Giving Compass' Take:

• Lazaro Lopez, writing for The Hechinger Report, examines the success of early career pathway programs in high schools that have relationships with local employers. 

• How can building talent pipelines in high school help students better prepare for the 21st-century workforce?  What about students who don't have the same access to schools with these pipelines? 

• Read about how career planning can start as early as middle school. 

Four years ago, Marilyn Gutierrez expressed interest in becoming a teacher, but was unsure about the steps needed to achieve that goal. Gutierrez participated in my high school district’s education pathway, where she took college-level courses and interned as a teacher.

Our career pathways program provides students with a sequence of career-focused courses and opportunities to accumulate early college credits, earn industry certifications and participate in authentic workplace experiences prior to high school graduation. The program links classroom learning to the knowledge and skills needed in the real world. Students graduate with a clear purpose and momentum as they enter college and the workforce.

This work has led to the creation of our Center for Career Discovery. Here, we provide opportunities to support students’ skill development, decision-making and post-secondary goals.

The result is clear: Schools can serve as economic engines when directly engaged in developing the talent pipeline essential to local employers. In one community, we learned from officials and business leaders that the candidate pool for manufacturing jobs was severely limited, leading us to offer hands-on credentialing in advanced manufacturing.

Read the full article about career-focused education by Lazaro Lopez at The Hechinger Report.