A Symposium for Educators, The Career Path Not Taken, sponsored by MCBRE and MCPS's Division of Career and Technology Education (CTE), is a good example of the value of professional conference programs MCBRE helps organize. The goal of this event was to have teams from each high school (composed of an administrator, guidance counselor, CTE Resource Teacher, classroom teachers and parents) review national, state, and local data related to recruitment and retention of underrepresented populations in non-traditional careers and then begin to create a plan to maximize career opportunities for all students.

School personnel attended one of two concurrent panel discussions. The business and industry panel was composed of experts from Lockheed Martin, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bith Group, Ernst & Young, and independant consultant Fernando Cruz-Billalba, and was moderated by Trudye Morgan Johnson, the Executive Director of The Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission. The higher education panel featured representation from the University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Howard University, and Montgomery College and was moderated by MCPS' Dr. Robyn Jackson, Assistant Principal at Thomas Pyle Middle School.

Following these sessions, the school teams reconvened with a facilitator to evaluate the data and information presented, and then began to create a plan for recruitment and retention of students in their respective schools. Throughout 2005 and into 2006, CTE has been working with and providing support to the high schools to complete, refine, and implement these plans.

Click here to view photos of this conference