Sacramento -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell Tuesday delivered his third annual State of Education address in which he outlined how educators must adapt to ensure that California's student population is prepared to compete in the fast-paced global economy of the 21st century.

"The world is becoming smaller and more connected by the minute, and the state of education in California today cannot be considered in isolation from that world or the changes occurring in it," O'Connell said. "Innovations started in Silicon Valley garages have created the dynamic world we live in today, and largely because of these innovations, we now find ourselves at a critical juncture. How we as educators respond to the demands of a rapidly changing global economy will in large measure determine whether our society thrives, or merely survives."

O'Connell described how the pace and degree of technological change over the last few decades have increased exponentially, while the way we educate students has not changed much over the last century.

Citing the disappearance of most good paying, low-skilled jobs, O'Connell noted that students in school today will be competing with millions of young people entering the global work force from developing countries around the world at the same time that the workplace has become more technical, demanding workers with higher and higher level of skills.

O'Connell called the diversity of California's student population rich in potential for California's strength in the global economy, but noted that the population of students that is growing the fastest is lagging the furthest behind their peers academically.

"In any one of California's thousands of classrooms, we could have future workers with the ability to understand a dozen different cultures and the wherewithal to connect and communicate with people all over the globe on terms they can understand. But, we have not yet tapped the tremendous potential we have. Quite simply, the demanding global economy and a stubborn achievement gap not only threaten the future of our students, but also the future economic health and security of our state and nation."

O'Connell called improving teacher and school administrator quality key to closing the achievement gap, even as nearly a third of California's teaching force is expected to retire over the next 10 years, by:

Re-establishing and fully funding regional teacher recruitment centers and incentives for talented teachers to serve in the lowest performing schools;

Expanding the intensive professional development programs for teachers in the subjects of science and history/social science;

Providing $53 million in funding to provide outstanding teacher coaches in all subject areas in the most challenging schools;

Expanding pathways for becoming a classroom teacher and new ways for talented administrators to move from the private sector to careers in school; and

Providing ongoing professional development for inexperienced school principals.

To increase the rigor and relevance of high schools, O'Connell called for an expansion of smaller learning communities where academics are blended with a focus on careers. He urged increasing the number of California Partnership Academies and will seek legislation to expand these academies to all four years of high school. He also asked for more public involvement in schools and announced that he is working to redesign the School Accountability Report Card so parents and communities know how individual schools are doing.

O'Connell also called for incentives in the infrastructure bond for education that will lead to the construction of school facilities that are more reflective of the changing world.

"In this Conceptual Age, we should question whether it still makes sense to build classrooms that were designed more than 100 years ago for the Industrial Age," he said. "With this type of infrastructure investment comes tremendous opportunity to impact not only student achievement and experience, but, in fact, the very communities in which we all live. Let's build energy efficient, high-performance learning environments that work in a world of continuous computing."

Finally, O'Connell announced that the California Department of Education, in partnership with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, will initiate a new function as a broker of expertise to share research and innovative best practices in a practical way with schools around the state.

O'Connell concluded by asking educators to use technology and data to tailor our educational system to more directly meet the needs of each student.

"It's time to work together in our communities to find innovative ways of meeting all children where they are," he said.

Copyright 2006 -- The Daily Journal