FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Outspoken futurist Jack Powers elected chairman of NYC schools advisory group

Calls Career & Technical Education (CTE) one of New York’s great educational legacies

Brooklyn, NY (September 1, 2009) --  Technology expert Jack Powers, founder of Brooklyn’s International Informatics Institute (http://IN3.ORG), was elected chairman of New York City’s Advisory Council for Career & Technical Education at the group’s summer meeting in July. The all-volunteer Advisory Council is made up of 30 executives from the city’s leading corporations, trade unions, universities and community organizations appointed by New York Schools Chancellor Joel Klein to help link schools to the world of work.

Career and technical education (CTE) programs provide skills training and workforce preparation in a wide variety of fields, from agriculture to building trades, from web development to health careers, from aeronautics to finance. Industry advisory commissions close to each discipline work with teachers, principals and students to keep the schools up-to-date and connected.

CTE students have attendance rates up to 10% higher than high schools in general and are four times less likely to drop out than all-academic high school students, even though CTE programs often draw from low-income populations with the lowest English and math scores. Many graduates go on to two-year and four-year colleges, technical schools and apprenticeship programs to advance their careers.

Since 1987, Powers has served on the Council’s Graphics Industry Advisory Commission where he helps evaluate curriculum issues, develop teacher training programs, and support a successful citywide graphics competition. He also serves on the board of the Graphic Communications Scholarship Foundation, a 501(c)3 spin-off.

“New York City has a venerable history of teaching people from all backgrounds the skills they need to build successful, fulfilling lives,” Powers said. “We used to call it ‘vocational education,’ and I’ve always liked that notion of a life’s work as your vocation. Book learning and test-taking are fine, but we certainly need more people in this city who know how to do things, how to build things, how to fix things and how to get things done.”

About the International Informatics Institute, Inc.
The International Informatics Institute (IN3.ORG) is a New York center for research and education in media, technology, business and society founded in 1982 by Jack Powers. Tracking the development of media technologies since the first PC, IN3.ORG conducts research, publishes books and journal articles, produces videos and organizes conferences on the leading edge of innovation. Tens of thousands of business professionals have taken part in IN3-developed educational programs around the world. For more information, contact Jack Powers at 718-499-1884.

For more information, contact

Sandy Vanella
International Informatics Institute
405 Fourth Street
Brooklyn, New York 11215 USA
PHONE: +1 718-499-1884
EMAIL: SVanella@IN3.ORG
WEB: http://IN3.ORG/