Rowan-Salisbury Schools offer vocational education classes, but the concept of preparing students for the world of work may be about to get much more intense.

This week, Dr. Gene Bottoms is visiting Rowan schools to learn about local challenges and propose remedies from the High Schools That Work design. This is no fad. High Schools That Work has been around since 1987 and is now in more than 1,200 sites in 30 states and D.C. It was established by — deep breath — the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)  State Vocational Education Consortium.

High Schools That Work is Bottoms’ brain child, and he thinks it could work here — to prepare the workforce, improve student achievement and, for students in need, provide a bridge out of poverty.

“You’re on one of the greatest economic canals in America, I-85,” Bottoms told a group of community leaders who met with him for lunch Tuesday at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Yet there is a disconnect between the prosperity of the I-85 corridor and the local workforce. Jobs that require skills go unfilled, while thousands of people compete for unskilled jobs that pay less.

“We’ve never done a better job in education than what we’re doing today,” Bottoms said, “but the world is changing faster.”

Bottoms talked about making the focus on future work an integral part of every student’s high school education. Many more of them would enroll in vocational programs than do now; some might even leave high school after their junior year to get certification in a chosen field. The percentage going straight to community college — instead of waiting until they’re 28 or 29 to do so — would go up. At the same time, though, academic rigor for all students would be increased, because every skilled job requires strong literacy and math skills. Bottoms said it’s wrong to  let students think they can get by otherwise.

High Schools That Work is a more complicated concept than can be explained fully here. Bottoms said it would not be a quick fix. “My experience is it’s a five-year turnaround process.” Its key practices sound worthy — high expectations, program of study, academic studies, career-technical studies, work-based learning, teachers working together, students actively engaged, guidance, extra help, culture of continuous improvement.

Let’s learn more about High Schools That Work — and consider how it might help Rowan-Salisbury high schools direct more students’ attention on preparing for a productive future.