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Chancellor Klein announced the creation of four experimental vocational schools.

Chancellor Joel Klein announced the creation of four demonstration schools today that are designed to rethink how the city teaches vocational skills.

At a time when traditional industries are shuttering the production plants that schools like Automotive High School and Aviation High School cater to, the city is reevaluating how to make its high school graduates marketable.

Selected from a pool of 10 proposals, the four schools are experimenting with new time structures, course offerings, and partnerships with other organizations. Each one is sharing space with a larger public school and serving between 75 and 125 students.

At a press conference at George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, Klein said he hoped more people would think up proposals for new school models.

“I hope we can expand this model,” he said. “It’s one that I urge people to watch.” (more…)