Giving Compass' take:

• Kids that attend schools in Cajon Valley Union School District are exposed to a wide variety of career options starting in kindergarten to help them find their way in the world after graduating high school. 

• Is it healthy to have 5-year-olds learning about careers? How can these lessons be applied to jobs that do not yet exist but will be important in the next decades? 

• Learn why some schools are focusing more on vocational training. 

In Southern California’s Cajon Valley Union School District, career exploration starts in kindergarten. Five-year-olds learn about police officers, doctors, artists, teachers, bakers, and farmers. Over the next eight years, until they leave the district for high school, they will cycle through learning about 54 different careers, including real estate agent, paralegal, dietitian, reporter, graphic designer, sociologist, urban and regional planner and financial analyst.

A core belief of those who created the program, which began this year, is that there is dignity in all work, a belief reflected in the range of careers highlighted.

Cajon Valley Union School District has 17,000 students across 27 schools. Nearly three-quarters of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a standard measure of poverty, and the district is home to many refugees. Integrating career exploration into classrooms from the very earliest grades can introduce students to job opportunities that their existing family and community networks might not have or know about. And that could change their futures.

There has been some pushback. People wonder whether it’s really necessary to make this effort with kids so young. Teachers say they are already overstretched. But Hidalgo points to the statistics: good jobs for adults with a high school diploma alone or for high school dropouts are disappearing.

Read the full article about introducing students to careers by Tara García Mathewson at The Hechinger Report.