A widely covered story in the New York Times (registration required) talks about how the U.S. has already lost its dominancein science and engineering research, publishing, and patents.

Like it or not, K12 education is becoming an economic development issue. What keeps coming up over and over again in business attraction and retention (especially in rural areas) is workforce development and the need for workers with appropriate Knowledge Economy skills.

Like so many other problems, waiting for the Federal (or state) government to solve this, is, I think, futile. We simply need to start doing what needs to be done on a local level, where we can actually plan and implement changes in a reasonable period of time.

Great examples of what is possible includes Terry McGhee's terrific Growing Digital program at Danville Community College, and Orange County's nonprofit Hornet Technologies. The Hornet Technologies program led to a business incubator project and more jobs in an otherwise rural and isolated area of Virginia. Both were started on a shoestring by brilliant individuals who had the support and trust of higher ups. That's all it takes.