Former director at California Department of Education takes over as head of education nonprofit
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Californer -- A former California Department of Education official has been named executive director of an education-focused nonprofit to achieve her plan of helping more students attain their college and career goals.

This July, Donna Wyatt started operating as executive director of Get Focused…Stay Focused!, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Barbara that provides a guidance program administered in classrooms that's designed to increase high school and college completion while ensuring students are successfully transitioned into the workforce.

Wyatt is the former Career and College Transition Division Director for the CDE and has over 25 years of experience teaching and administering Career Technical Education courses. A native of Long Beach, California, Wyatt has also been an adjunct professor at University of California, Berkeley, in the CTE Teacher Preparation and Credential program.

As director of Get Focused…Stay Focused!, Wyatt said she hopes to build awareness and provide more support to the hundreds of school districts adopting the Get Focused…Stay Focused! program. Wyatt said she believes in the program's ability to help all students of all skill levels, which is why she was excited to accept the position of executive director.

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"We have to stop telling students that college is the goal," Wyatt said. "The question has to be, 'What do you want to do with your life?' It's a career that needs to be the goal."

Having a career-focused education course is crucial in helping students discover and achieve their lifestyle goals, she said.

"Students need to enter postsecondary education with a plan for their future," she said, "and Get Focused…Stay Focused! helps them develop a plan that is based on their skills, aptitudes and interests. It also supports students in the development of essential workplace readiness and financial literacy skills."

The 465 high schools across the nation that use the Get Focused…Stay Focused! program (http://getfocusedstayfocused.org/) implement comprehensive courses that help students identify their interests and life goals, discover a career aligned to those interests and goals, and develop a 10-year career and educational plan.