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Career education is a vital pipeline to high demand jobs in the workforce. Students from all walks of life benefit from the opportunity to pursue their career education goals and find new employment opportunities. Join Dr. Jason Altmire, President and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities (CECU), as he discusses the issues and innovations affecting postsecondary career education. Twice monthly, he and his guests discuss politics, business, and current events impacting education and public policy.
Jason Altmire (00:04)
Hello and welcome to another edition of Career Education Report. I'm Jason Altmire, and we love to highlight on this podcast innovative thinkers and leaders in workforce development and education around the country that are doing new things and and making a big difference. And today we have a special guest, Dr. Whitney Oakley. She is the superintendent of Guilford County Schools, which serves more than 66,000.
Jason Altmire (00:34)
K through twelve students in that district, which is located around Greensboro, North Carolina. And they have some very interesting projects ongoing called the Guilford Promise that we're going to talk about. But Dr. Oakley, thank you for being with us.
Whitney Oakley (00:50)
Thanks for having me.
Jason Altmire (00:51)
Let's just get right into it and start with the basics. What is the Guilford Guarantee and what promises do you make to students at your schools?
Whitney Oakley (01:01)
Yeah, I mean, what we call the go for guarantee really just means that every student graduates with more than a diploma. They either graduate with college credits, an industry credential, or meaningful work-blaced experience. The goal here is increased economic mobility, not just a diploma. We want every graduate to leave us with a plan. So our work aligns schools, it aligns higher ed, employers, community partners around this one shared promise to students.
Jason Altmire (01:30)
How did this idea come about? How did it originate? What was there a moment or a pattern that the data locally made clear to you that you needed a different approach? What was it that led you to going in this direction?
Whitney Oakley (01:44)
It really came from listening and looking at the national research. So we met with thousands of parents and high school students. And the trend and what they said they needed more help with was knowing what their options were sooner. That finding out options for career pathways in your junior year of high school is much too late. And so they wanted to know what
Whitney Oakley (02:09)
career pathway options were open to them, what kind of jobs they could get, what kind of wages they could earn, how it aligned with college. They wanted to know in middle school. So we also followed the national research that said that about 70% of the graduating class back in 2024, only about 70% graduated with a clear plan. And so that's something we have to do something about. So employers also were signaling these workforce needs at the same time.
Whitney Oakley (02:38)
And we knew that students could do it. We just didn't have the systems aligned or in place. So there was lots of barriers and fragmentation between graduation and what's next.
Jason Altmire (02:48)
Maybe give us an example. What what does this look like for a student? Maybe someone who earned college credit or completes a credential or has work-based learning experience, it changes. How does all of this work?
Whitney Oakley (03:01)
Well, we're grateful that we're at a place where we have hundreds and hundreds of stories now, and I think that number will only continue to grow, but I'll talk a little bit about Dormy. Dormy was inspired by her father's stories of serving in the military in Mexico. So she found her own passion for helping others in these high pressure situations and developed her career plan to enlist in the army to become a combat medic.
Whitney Oakley (03:28)
So she went to a middle college, took college credits. She challenged herself really through this GoFord Guarantee concept. She was at one point triple enrolled, health science at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, college courses, and had these educators and counselors helping her build the confidence and and really write the plan into her future. So
Whitney Oakley (03:51)
She says that during her high school experience she knows that she belongs anywhere she chooses to go. She knows how to forge her own path of service with strength and purpose, and she's following the plan that she created.
Jason Altmire (04:04)
And we at career education colleges and universities, CQ, we're really leaning into this idea that there needs to be better coordination between education and workforce development. And one thing that stands out to me in your work is you're treating that relationship between education and workforce development as part of the same ecosystem instead of operating in silos. And that
Jason Altmire (04:31)
really strikes a chord with us. How has your thinking evolved around the role public schools should play in regional economic development?
Whitney Oakley (04:41)
Well, I do think you're right that we can't have economic development living over here and education living over here. So we've got these businesses coming here at unprecedented rates, advanced manufacturing, aviation also. and so we've just really begun to see ourselves in K twelve as our role in building that local talent pipeline that employers depend on.
Whitney Oakley (05:05)
It also means we have to align the K-12 pathways with what's offered at the community colleges. So now when our chambers are introducing new businesses who might pick our region, that we're part of what they're selling. So jet zero is coming. We have an aviation high school program that goes right into these jobs. And so we're we're a part of what these businesses are looking for.
Whitney Oakley (05:30)
And now people know about it and they know which of those pathways exist that will build their own pipeline along the way.
Jason Altmire (05:37)
This podcast is is of course nationally focused. So there's probably folks out there that don't know a lot about Greensboro or Guildford County. Maybe talk a little bit about the demographics of your student population and within that, what are some of the hidden barriers that would traditionally prevent your students from fully participating in college or career pathways?
Whitney Oakley (06:02)
Yeah, I mean, I think we have about 42% of our students are black, about 20% of our students are white, nineteen percent Hispanic, very diverse student population. of our 121 schools, about 88 are classified as Title I schools with higher concentrations of students living in poverty. And so often what we see in terms of barriers are things like transportation scheduling.
Whitney Oakley (06:31)
the fees associated with books for kids taking college credit, disconnected systems. Like I didn't know it was an option for me to spend my junior and senior year earning this industry credential. So lots of opportunities still depended on kind of this inside knowledge or a student who told another student or a family who already had access. so it's not about student ability, it's about the access alignment and the system alignment. So
Whitney Oakley (06:58)
We're having high numbers of students earn those college credits and credentials once we're breaking down those barriers.
Jason Altmire (07:06)
One of the things that attracted me to to wanting to talk to you is we you're probably aware we we just wrote a book related to workforce development and we talk about this paradox that exists of how is it possible that record numbers of college graduates cannot find jobs while record numbers of employers cannot find workers to fill openings. What how how are both of those things possible at the same time?
Jason Altmire (07:35)
And one of the things that we recommend and we've noticed to be a problem all across the country is this lack of coordination between schools, all levels of education, K through 12 and higher education, employers, nonprofit, policy makers in the government, all the stakeholders. So what has made those partnerships successful? Because you've been able to
Jason Altmire (08:02)
work with everybody and and bring everybody to the table. So how how have you kept everyone aligned around a shared goal?
Whitney Oakley (08:09)
Well, I'd also like to think that we're still getting started in terms of aligning the systems because you got to stay the course. But really we set the goal of all students will graduate with this industry credential or this semesters with the college credit or this workplace experience. And then we went to these business leaders and says, What does that mean for you? How can you plug in? we we also
Whitney Oakley (08:35)
Are helping build that local pipeline talent that employers are really depending on us for. So we've created the trusting relationships. We've learned that partners will only move at the rate that they trust us through consistent communication and problem solving. We meet regularly with our community college leadership. Both the president of the community college and I are committed to being at the table.
Whitney Oakley (09:00)
And then each partner kind of helps to solve the barriers that they're best positioned to address. So if it's transportation, we go to the transit authority. If it's books and fees, we go to our philanthropic partners. So we all have shared ownership and the consistent communication relationship building is really what's made it progress.
Jason Altmire (09:18)
As I understand it and researching a little bit about your program, Guilford County Schools has partnerships with employers, I think like Toyota, Honda Jet, Cone Health. What have employers told you they need most from today's education systems? And how has that shaped your thinking about the pathways that they're building?
Whitney Oakley (09:40)
Sure. So we're using local workforce demands to build our high school pathways. So when they say we have a gap in advanced manufacturing, then we build pathways to fill that gap. So we know that those employers namely need the stronger talent pipelines to real workforce demands. What they're telling us is that they value the technical skills, the adaptability, the communication, the hands-on experience.
Whitney Oakley (10:06)
So we've directly tied the pathways to the economic drivers that are shaping the county and the broader region. healthcare is one of the region's largest and fastest growing sectors for sure. We know locally they plan to employ more than 30,000 residents. And then we've got aviation, advanced manufacturing, the Toyota.
Whitney Oakley (10:27)
Battery plant now employs more than 3,000. The airport is booming. so together with Honda Aircraft and many others, these investments are just positioning the region to be the hub for high value production. So we're just talking about how we can do things like at Toyota, we have a pipeline from sixth to twelfth grade where they earn the credential and co go right into a job at the the Toyota battery plant. And we're replicating that across different industries.
Whitney Oakley (10:56)
aviation included. So really the listening and then responding to what the need is is how that's happened so far.
Jason Altmire (11:04)
I think what's really important to understand about what you're doing is is you are, as you just articulated, you're matching the students' opportunities to the jobs that are available. You you have the Toyota battery plant, you have a large aviation industry, aviation technicians. we have a number of those type of schools among our membership. There's 22,000 job openings around the country just for aviation technicians.
Jason Altmire (11:34)
And you have described the Guilford Guarantee as more than just a district initiative for your schools, but a regional economic development strategy. And I think all of that comes together. So how do you see schools helping strengthen the talent pipeline, but also helping students and families see a future for themselves locally to stay in Guildford County?
Whitney Oakley (12:02)
Well, I think that starts with graduating with a plan. that we value a high school diploma, but we also want you to have a plan for the future. We want students to feel connected to opportunities in their own community before they graduate, that they can see themselves as part of something. So the strong education to workforce pipelines also not only benefit students, they
Whitney Oakley (12:26)
benefit employers and they benefit the broader community and their keys to not only economic mobility, but economic growth right here in our own community. And when businesses see that and see that connection, that makes it an even more attractive place to come. And so we're just hoping that that ecosystem strengthens over time.
Jason Altmire (12:47)
Using those as examples, the the battery, the Toyota battery plant, aviation, some of the industries that are local to Guilford County. How would it work for a student in thinking through whether they go to college, whether they go directly from high school into some sort of on-the-job training relationship, perhaps the potential for a certificate or or
Jason Altmire (13:14)
education that they receive in high school, then transitioning that to the workforce. How does it work in determining what is the best path for a student going to post secondary institution or going right into the workforce?
Whitney Oakley (13:28)
Well, think it it starts really early. And I think that's what most folks are missing, to be honest, is we have to get students excited about different careers in elementary school. They can't envision themselves as something they've never seen. And so the intentionality around getting excited about careers. Then in middle school, they have to explore different careers. So thinking about how can I try this out? Can I do a drone simulation elective? Can I do something that is that matches what I'm excited about?
Whitney Oakley (13:57)
And then in high school, we have to experience it. So making sure that we're connecting these internships and apprenticeships with what the students have gotten excited about and then explored. We also give an aptitude assessment in seventh grade in partnership with Shift Ed, a Philanthropic Partner, that just shows students what they're naturally gifted in, which is different than what you're interested in.
Whitney Oakley (14:23)
And they see those natural aptitudes connected to careers and they think, that's interesting to me, or no, thank you. They do it again in 10th grade, and then they build kind of their path forward with high quality advising. So I really think that it that high quality advising after this conversation in seventh grade and then a plan in tenth grade about what I do next is how that fabric works for planning their trajectory. And for some, it is a four-year college degree.
Whitney Oakley (14:53)
For some, it's going and right into the job at Toyota. For some, it's going to the community college to earn another credential to go to Honda Jet. And so just being real clear on what the options are early on and communicating about that and giving kids those experiences is what will make it happen.
Jason Altmire (15:11)
One of the things that we have found related to s the skills gap and where the vacancies are in a lot of these, especially blue collar jobs, is the role that gender stereotypes play and getting more women, especially young girls, interested in the trades from an early age.
Jason Altmire (15:33)
so that they can understand this is a possible career path for them. Is is this something that you consider as part of your work in in ways to help break through that gender stereotype?
Whitney Oakley (15:44)
Well, I think particularly here because all the industries right now are in the STEM field and that's where we see the biggest gender gap, right? Is in the science, technology, engineering, and math, which is why that elementary school component is so important that we're showing students what these careers look like and that you don't have to look like that to be able to do that job. And so this intentionality around more than just a career day.
Whitney Oakley (16:10)
but real excitement around careers and real representation that matches the students that we serve and doing that in all grade spans across the way.
Jason Altmire (16:21)
For others out there who were listening, whether they be superintendents like yourself or workforce leaders, other stakeholders that might want to replicate the elements of the Guilford Guarantee, what what's the biggest lesson you've learned so far and what advice would you give others about where to start with a similar type of program?
Whitney Oakley (16:42)
I mean, I think for us, this focus on partnership and shared goals. So the fact that we are at the table with the leaders of the community college and we've agreed on one goal is really, really important. One little program isn't gonna get us there, not at scale, not when we graduate five thousand students a year. So making sure that we're working on aligning systems and then removing those barriers. So I asked kids, I was like, Why aren't you taking these courses? They said
Whitney Oakley (17:10)
We don't have our own car, but the kids at this school all go at fourth period. So just it just asking them, like, you know, would this interest you? What's in the way? so we we started with getting rid of those barriers that prevent the student participation and aligning around a goal with our workforce and community college partners. And it's just kind of taken off from there.
Jason Altmire (17:33)
And what would you say? We you know, I'm glad that we found you and are able to shine a light on what you're doing. What would you say is among your peers, the thought process related to the work that you're doing? Are are you viewed as someone who is kind of out there on your own doing something that others haven't thought of, or do you see this as a wider practice that's happening throughout North Carolina or maybe even in a wider region?
Whitney Oakley (18:03)
think it's gaining momentum. I think we're one of the first to try to realign our system to match that of the community college. So talking about how juniors and seniors can be on the community college calendar. We're one of the largest districts, so we're gonna be one of the first to scale this. It's happening in smaller pockets and smaller counties where say there's one high school and it's across the street from the community college. That's a little bit different.
Whitney Oakley (18:29)
but we're really working on systemic transportation, systemic books and fees, so that this isn't something that one kid figures out how to do and gets lucky. It's something we can guarantee for all students here in Guilford County.
Jason Altmire (18:41)
If somebody wanted to learn more about the work that you're doing or get in touch with you, how would they do it?
Whitney Oakley (18:49)
Well, we have a whole Go for Guarantee section on our website at www.gcsnc.com. People can go to that platform, ask questions, get connected with career and technical education. sometimes it's with the community college. So we just kind of route them based on what they're interested in there. but the website's the first stop for that.
Jason Altmire (19:10)
How long have you been superintendent at Guildford?
Whitney Oakley (19:14)
we're wrapping up year four here, but it's home for me. I went to school here. my kids are in school here s and I was in academics before and deputy superintendent before. So been in the district for about thirteen years, but end of year four in the role.
Jason Altmire (19:29)
Well, you are doing amazing work. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. Our guest has been Dr. Whitney Oakley. She is the superintendent for Guildford County Schools. Doctor Oakley, thank you for being with us.
Whitney Oakley (19:43)
Thank you for having me.
Jason Altmire (19:49)
Thanks for joining me for this episode of the Career Education Report. Subscribe and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. For more information, visit our website at career.org and follow us on Twitter @CECUED. That's at C E C U E D. Thank you for listening.