[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 20207]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 BERKS COUNTY CAREER PATHWAYS ALLIANCE

  (Mr. SMUCKER asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize some wonderful 
work being done for our students in Berks County, Pennsylvania. The 
Berks County Career Pathways Alliance is an initiative to create a 
countywide framework to engage K-12 students in career awareness, work-
based learning opportunities, and financial literacy.
  Mr. Speaker, I have spoken in this Chamber before about our work to 
prepare students for our 21st century economy, but today I get to stand 
up here and share the work that is being done by the people on the 
ground fighting every day to make a difference in the lives of the 
students in their communities.
  The Alliance brings together educators, school administrators, 
private business, and the local Chamber of Commerce, a cohesive group 
of diverse organizations, to make real progress toward improving the 
workforce pipeline in Berks County. Their goal is to have 18 school 
districts in Berks County adopt their framework and eventually make it 
a statewide initiative.
  This initiative is being led by Dr. Jill Hackman, the executive 
director of the Berks County Intermediate Unit, and the Greater Reading 
Chamber Alliance. Thanks to their tireless efforts, and the efforts of 
many others involved, students will be exposed to new learning 
opportunities that can open the door to family sustaining careers.
  I am very proud of the work being done in my district, and I look 
forward to seeing their initiative change the lives of some of the 
70,000 K-12 students in Berks County.

                          ____________________