Employment opportunities for teens and early twenties have plummeted in recent years, according to a new study by the Brookings Institution. Just 26% of teens ages 16 to 19 had a job in 2011, down from 45% in 2000. That’s the lowest rate on record in the post-World War II era.
The Brookings study tracked youth employment among the 100 largest metro areas using Department of Labor and Census data, Fewer than 1 in 6 teens are employed. While many of these students are simultaneously enrolled in either high school or college, even modest rises in enrollment rates were not enough to explain why so few young people have jobs, said Martha Ross, fellow with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and co-author of the report.
The report shows non-hispanic whites, and young people who come from higher-income families are most likely to find jobs. Also, young women were slightly more likely to be employed than young men. Meanwhile, problems were most pronounced among blacks, students from lower-income families and high school dropouts. As for education, high school truly is the new middle school: a key step in one’s schooling, but not nearly enough to prepare students for a job.
Well our local Durham Community has seen this coming for some time now and has been very successful at preparing our adolescents for their futures. One great example would be the City of Medicine Academy. This school does begin with the tender age of 10 and up. They offer middle school and high school students the ability to shape their futures in their line of interest and talents very early on.
City of Medicine Academy is a small learning community and national model designed to educate and train students to work in the field of health services and medical care. Located in the heart of Durham’s medical district, City of Medicine Academy (CMA) provides coursework and field opportunities focused on the health care industry with an emphasis on rigorous and relevant learning experiences.
CMA was originally located on the campus of Southern Durham High School and was in existence for 13 years before becoming established as a separate magnet school. In 2008, CMA was housed in a temporary location and began preparing over 200 students for careers in the medical field. Within three years the schools permanent facility was built on the Durham Regional Hospital campus. Currently the school serves almost 400 students in grades 9-12.
Students who attend CMA are committed to becoming health care professionals. They are provided with both core academic and health sciences curriculum from highly qualified teachers who are dedicated to infusing the health care thread in every course. CMA provides the opportunity for students to complete the required academic courses while also receiving exposure to the health care field through job shadowing, field trips, guest speakers, mentoring, and problem-based learning. City of Medicine Academy partners with the local medical community to provide field experiences for students in the form of clinic rotations and internships at local offices and facilities. This is just one of the many magnet schools that Durham has to offer. We are very proud of the pro-active approach that our community has created for our youth to prevent the downward spiral that so many other metropolitan areas are experiencing.
We have created stronger linkages between school, college and work so young people don’t flounder when they leave high school or college.