HOW TO DEVELOP VIABLE CAREER PATHWAYS
WITHIN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAMS
(Click the above image for a PDF version of the resources on this page)
HOW TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
- Evaluate current employment opportunities and demand in your local and regional context.
- Engage multiple stakeholders, including parents, students, and local community college and business representatives, in a discussion about possible career pathways to develop.
- Develop a collaborative relationship with one or more local businesses and other potential employers, or with a local business association. Elicit business leaders’ input on the skills they seek in new employees, and enlist their support in providing job shadow and internship opportunities, speakers for career days, and volunteer engagement as mentors to students.
- The following training materials and exemplars in practice outline how some schools, districts, and states have successfully established viable career and postsecondary pathways.
EXEMPLARS IN PRACTICE
CTE on the Frontier: Catalyzing Local Efforts to Improve Program Quality
Advance CTE
August 2017
This article examines state strategies to improve the quality of local CTE programs to meet industry needs and expand opportunities for rural students. Specific examples include Nebraska, South Dakota, Idaho and Mississippi to demonstrate different approaches state leaders can take to empower local leaders.
Designing a Career Pathways System: A Framework for State Education Agencies
College & Career Readiness & Success Center at American Institutes for Research
The Career and College Readiness and Success Center has created a website that outlines frameworks for state education agencies. The 4 key areas include:
- Engaging Key Stakeholders and Defining Goals
- Mapping Policies, Programs, and Industries
- Designing a Framework
- Implementation and Continuous Improvement
Connecting Secondary Career and Technical Education and Registered Apprenticeship: A Profile of Six State Systems
DOE: National Center for Innovation in Career and Technical Education
July 2016
This report profiles six states — Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Washington — and reviews the programmatic, administrative, and financial policies around career and technical education (CTE) and registered apprenticeships (RA). The entire study was focused on answering the following questions: What are the program features that define states’ efforts to align secondary CTE programs with RA, and What program supports exist at the state and local levels to promotion system coordination between secondary CTE and RA programs.
New Pathways to Careers and College: Examples, Evidence, and Prospects
MDRC
April 2015
This report describes sample “pathway” models, identifies localities where the approach has gained the most traction, discusses the underlying principles that characterize the most promising programs, and briefly presents the evidence of their potential to make a difference. The report concludes with a set of recommendations for future investment to strengthen and scale such programs.
Gov. Hickenlooper Announces $9.5 Million to Launch Statewide Youth Apprenticeship and Career Readiness Programs
Career Wise Colorado
September 2016
This article highlights how Bloomberg Philanthropies anad JPMorgan Chase & Co. partnered with the state of Colorado to fund the development of a pilot program to develop high-demand skills for careers and opportunities in Colorado’s leading industries.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Statistics
National Center for Education Statistics
This website provides national statistics on CTE and work preparation, from high school to adult and postsecondary.
Career Development Education: Activities Guide and Glossary
Massachusetts Department of Education
The Massachusetts Career Development Education (CDE) consists of well-designed state and district strategies for teaching and learning that enable a student to prepare for a successful future in an economically viable career.
PSI High: Design Your Personal Learning Plan
Seminole Co. Public Schools
April 2018
PSI High is an immersive, full-time program located within Seminole High School where students work in an environment that looks like a high-tech office instead of a classroom. Rather than learn through traditional instruction, students join teams with their peers and teachers to solve real community, business, and social problems.
Carl Wunsche Sr. High School
Spring ISD
The Carl Wunsche High School is a career academy for students in grades 10-12, focusing on professional, technology, and medical career and college preparation.
Building America’s Skilled Technical Workforce
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
2017
The findings and recommendations presented in this publication are designed to help overcome some of the barriers identified within the current framework of federal governance, state implementation, and market incentives. The book recommends specific actions by Congress, federal agencies, state governments, employers, and civic organizations to improve the American system of workforce development.
RESOURCES
- Preventing Dropout in Secondary Schools
What Works Clearinghouse
Sept 2017
This guide is geared for school and district administrators, as well as members of student support teams. It includes a wide range of activities and best practices that can can be adapted to fit a school’s or district’s needs. Highlighted things include: monitoring and being proactive in a students progress, individualized support, connecting schoolwork with colleges and careers, and creating small personalized communities. - Work-based Learning Tool Kit
DOE/RTI
The Work-based Learning Tool Kit will provide state and local program administrators with information regarding the key components of work-based learning (WBL), an instructional strategy that enhances classroom learning by connecting it to the workplace. It offers guidelines and resources related to creating a state WBL strategy, engaging employers, collecting data, and scaling effective programs.