While demanding anonymity, a source very close to the swirling DCSD planning storm has been suggesting there is a new[ish] repurposing plan for Vanderlyn, and this one is brilliant. That's what makes it seem highly unlikely to survive the next round of plan rewrites.
So what is today's plan?
Well, it is quite a reversal for any entrenched educrat dominated school system: it is an updated version of what back in the day was called vo-tech. This would, of course, be attached to the programs at Dunwoody High School and would provide an educational option leading far away from useless college debt. This is about as radical, as much a 180, as the Yale report on Trust in Higher Education. Even if these plans are approved, they will likely fall prey to the entrenched who have brought us to the failed status quo. Who would have thought that folks who are self-professed uber-progressives would be so very conservative?
While details are scarce, suggestions under consideration sound like a maker-space alongside more traditional education in the trades. Classes will cover not only how to do work required in the trade, but also how these businesses operate (most are really all about service), overview the business models, examine regulatory issues and constraints, and provide a roadmap to post-employment education/training opportunities. A novel suggestion, is partnering with businesses to provide practical experience: internships, much like those in white collar scenarios, which means "unpaid." This provides valuable real-world experience, and exposure to potential employers.
Will this plan survive? Maybe not, but it would be the first reasonable action taken by DCSD in decades.
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