Randy Squier shares readiness for career, life and college and how CTE pathways are supporting all students to be ready

Highlights from this episode:  "We want all of our students to be exemplary communicators, collaborators, critical and creative thinkers, and to be able to self-direct their learning in any setting." "The diploma means more than a diploma, it means they are ready for their life, they are ready for their career, and they are ready for post-secondary if they choose to go to college." "It’s important for school leaders to always be asking, 'What is next? What’s down the road? What do we have to make sure that kids are ready for?'” Randy Squier is currently the superintendent of schools for Coxsackie-Athens Central Schools which are located 20 miles south of Albany, NY on the Hudson River.  Randy is in his eleventh year at C-A and 17th as a superintendent, previously serving Oxford Central Schools for six years.  He has presented regionally, statewide, and nationally on topics that have a foundation in professional learning communities and innovative schools. C-A was ranked 1st in the nation in 2018 by the National School Boards Association for its digital conversion that includes providing mobile devices for every student since 2015, a robust digital badge program, and shifting most back-office storage functions to the cloud. For the last nine years, Coxsackie-Athens’ graduation rate is 16% higher than the previous eight years. The district was one of three schools recognized nationally by ISTE for its digital badge program.  Randy was a Tech & Learning Magazine runner-up for 2017 digital leaders. https://www.cacsd.org/page/defining-readiness current pathway