Pulse of the People: Invest in education now or we will pay
later  The Kids Count report (Report: no school, work for 16
percent of New York youth, Dec. 3) shines a light on a pervasive
issue -- far too many drop out without the skills needed to
compete in an increasing competitive global environment. And
many who do graduate require remediation in college.  This is
why "college and career readiness" is the driving force behind
the Common Core Standards adopted by 46 states -- and why
business and education needs to work together. Occupations, as a
whole, are steadily requiring more education and training - and
this represents a sea change in our society.  We must also
engineer the pathways to success by:  n Developing early-warning
systems to identify at-risk students and provide appropriate
interventions at a younger age.  n Creating multiple pathways to
graduation by recognizing the value of career-tech education;
science, technology, engineering and mathematics; the arts;
foreign languages; and other disc