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The Career-Focused Learner

Resources, including the report of NJSBA’s Task Force on Educational Opportunities for the Non-College Bound Learner, news articles, and a video on the topic.

Task Force Report

NJSBA Task Force Report on Educational Opportunities for the Non-College-Bound Learner

Many well-paying jobs that do not require a college education are going unfilled as companies search for employees with the skills they need. To effectively prepare students for the jobs of the future, schools must change the way they prepare students, according to the final report of the Task Force on Educational Opportunities for the Non-College-Bound Learner. View the final report, which makes 69 recommendations, identifying strategies to ensure our schools are meeting the needs of the career-focused student.


NJSBA’s Career-Focused Learner Ambassadors

NJSBA is forming a committee of dedicated board members to volunteer to speak at local boards of education and community meetings about what career-focused students need, the current opportunities available to them, and what boards of education can do to expand educational options for our students who are not planning to attend college immediately after high school. To volunteer, please email Vince DeLucia, NJSBA director of training and professional development, and NJSBA educator-in-residence, at vdelucia@njsba.org.

View a brochure on the topic here.


Video: “Preparing All Students for the Future”

The video highlights recommendations from the report of NJSBA’s Task Force on Educational Opportunities for the Non-College-Bound Learner. “


Career-Focused Learners in the News

School Leader Magazine: Career and Technical Education on the Cutting Edge

The November/December 2019 issue of School Leader magazine looks at the career programs in New Jersey’s 21 vocational-technical schools that have a direct application to manufacturing industries in the state. features a special section on school security.

School Leader Magazine: Preparing All Students for the Future 

The September/October 2018 issue of School Leader magazine spotlighted the topic of career-technical education.

School Board Notes: State Board Addresses CTE Education and Certification of Districts 

The Aug. 20, 2019 issue of School Board Notes reviewed a State Board of Education proposal to provide flexibility for individuals seeking to obtain a career and technical education (CTE) endorsement to an instructional certificate and to increase the pool of CTE teacher candidates. Flexibility in teacher certification was a recommendation of the NJSBA Task Force on Educational Opportunities for the Non-College-Bound Learner.