Education
Quality education is essential to a skilled and competitive workforce. Access to education, coupled with reliable, quality childcare is key for improving economic opportunities for all Americans.
Our education system is failing many students as shown by data that reveals two-thirds of our fourth and eighth graders are unable to read or do math at their grade level. And the United States ranks below a number of other countries in reading and math proficiency. Recognizing the importance of childcare as a key component of the education system is crucial to addressing the current challenges and ensuring that every child has the support they need to thrive.
- 6th in ReadingGlobal Ranking for U.S. Students
- 10th in ScienceGlobal Ranking for U.S. Students
- 26th in MathGlobal Ranking for U.S. Students
Introducing Commerce Meets Classroom, a new series from our K-12 education Senior Manager, Kyle Butler, featuring the business perspective on pressing education issues.
Stories of Education and Workforce in Action
Across our nation’s talent pipeline, we explore the stories of employers investing in the workforce of today and tomorrow to close the skills gap.
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Programs and Initiatives
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On October 30, the Center for Education and Workforce hosted our annual conference, Talent Forward centered around how COVID-19 has irrevocably changed our education and workforce systems.
After the wildfires of 2017, the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber partnered with the education community in Sonoma County to make the business case for critical policy changes and investments that would support the development of new centers and open new slots to the thousands of children on childcare wait lists.
COVID-19 has changed the business and talent landscape, and employers must re-think childcare assistance, benefits, and accommodations in these unique times. Many working parents are faced with the choice of leaving the workforce, working less hours, or switching employers. This October, the Foundation surveyed employers again to better understand if and how their concerns and challenges may have evolved as the impact of COVID-19 has endured.
In 2020, three areas — education, human resources (HR), and business — are learning to coexist in order to keep up with today’s constantly evolving workforce needs.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation has released a new report, "Piecing Together Solutions: Returning to Work and the Childcare Dilemma," outlining how childcare challenges are affecting working parents amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The report examines how working parents are struggling to adapt to the ongoing challenges posed by the pandemic, including difficulties navigating alternative childcare arrangements and online K-12 learning.
Local school governance has routinely been left out of discussions about education, and school boards often function with little oversight from the communities they serve. Even those who are aware of the role school boards play often don’t know how they can help. Yet, school boards have significant power and authority over the quality of education in our schools.
Childcare providers are often excluded from decision-making process in their community, according to a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
