Career Education as a School Responsibility

ASCD Express is looking for short, 600- to 1,000-word essays on the theme "Career Education as a School Responsibility." The theme description is below, and guidelines for submissions are here. Send us your submissions by April 28, 2010. 

Education pundits call the bachelor's degree the new high school diploma, so getting on the college train seems to be an eventuality for more and more high school graduates. Or is it? As high school commencements take place, not a few students, parents, and school leaders may be wondering, Couldn't schools being doing more to ensure that kids are better prepared for a job now? What should secondary schools be doing to help students explore career choices and connect school subjects to real-world work? How can high schools team up with community partners to offer robust internships that give students knowledge and hands-on experiences in fields they may one day be employed in? How can partnerships between colleges and high schools provide students with footholds in a future career? What highly valued job skills, such as collaboration and communication, should schools teach?