The impact is clear in Massachusetts: You'll find 35 "dot coms" for every 100 companies in Massachusetts, and our state employed 216,700 high-tech workers in 1998, 25,100 more than in 1993. Those workers earned an average of $64,400 in 1998, 70 percent higher than the average private sector wage.

The question is, can we continue to fuel the innovation of the New Economy - and can a new generation of workers unlock its potential?

For many young people in Massachusetts and around the nation, the challenge of the Information Age is being met in ways that exceed expectations. College students go from the dorm room to the board room as high tech moguls and hundreds of thousands graduate each year into a marketplace that boasts record high starting salaries for those with degrees in technology fields. Young people with the capacity to innovate and the tools to succeed in the New Economy are discovering that the future is limitless.

But for too many young people, the New Economy has not yet arrived. Without the right kind of training and education, computers may be little more than high-priced paperweights. In math and science testing, American high school students only outperform students from South Africa and Cyprus. A third of all college freshmen require remedial classes in basic skills. This is not a recipe for economic leadership. Government and the private sector have invested in technology infrastructure and hardware for our children - but these are investments in education technology, not technology education. We must insist that all our children become technologically literate, and we must join together to make that a reality.

An extraordinary collaboration between Waltham-based PTC and public schools in Great Britain provides a model for the kind of public-private partnerships our state and nation must embrace. Last summer, schools in Great Britain were given access to leading edge mechanical design software for use in the classroom, the same software used by engineers at major manufacturers worldwide to design everything from toys to nuclear submarines. PTC provided training to teachers and students alike in the nitty-gritty of using the software. Fully incorporated into the curriculum in British schools, this technology was used by students to design products from CD players, watches, and cell phones, to learn language, math, and science, and to place products in a social and business context. Students learned about past and present technology as an integral part of human culture and its impact on society. The impact on learning was simply amazing. Testing showed significant increases in problem-solving abilities. In one inner city school in London, the number of students passing the national standardized test increased seven-fold. After just one year, the "achievement gap" between inner city and suburban schools had narrowed considerably. The "gender gap" - the persistent lagging of girls in science, math, and technology subjects - had been erased entirely.

This unique public-private partnership had an impact not just on morale - but on real achievement and the development of real-world skills. American schools can learn a lot from this and other types of technology-based education - and beginning in Marblehead we will have the opportunity. At the Marblehead Charter School, students and teachers will be trained in this software and its applications. Once the project succeeds, it will be replicated around the state -- any school is eligible to receive the software at no cost.

The truth remains, however, that our nation and our education system are desperately in need of thousands of experiments like this one in our public schools. It's long past due that we enlist corporate America in our education reform efforts. These businesses suffer a "gap" of 260,000 unfilled high tech jobs as we fail to turn out well-trained graduates in science and math. Efforts should be made to recruit CEOs to serve on our school committees and offer their expertise in finance and management. Public schools should embrace experienced engineers as science and math teachers - teachers supported by a corporate sector that recognizes that increasingly the business of America is education. Government can never meet these challenges alone. Federal, state, and local governments should forge new partnerships with the private sector to find answers for our schools and our workers. We can leverage good corporate citizenship and sound public policy by empowering corporate leadership to keep Massachusetts roaring ahead into the next century. If we continue to adapt, learn, combine investment with innovation, and work together, Massachusetts can continue to move down the path to realizing the promise of the Information Age - and our children will lead the way.

United States Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) is a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee and the author of bipartisan education reform legislation. C. Richard Harrison is the President and CEO of PTC, one of the nation's largest software companies.