A colleague recently told the story of a high school freshman who started the academic year literally counting the days until he could legally drop out of school. The student was completely disengaged and flunking classes—until he took a welding class at his high school.
That connection to a career path—and to something he loved—sparked the student to enroll in similar classes, hone his skills and get an apprenticeship while he was still a student. Today, he’s thriving in a career with an industrial products company.
That student’s experience is emblematic of a philosophy I have advocated for years as a district superintendent: Career-connected learning is critical to keeping students engaged. Even more, it builds trust with the communities we serve and helps students avoid unnecessary college debt.
What employers and students really need
Before we talk more about students, let’s talk about business engagement. I’ve spoken to more than 60 business leaders in the districts I’ve served. Over and over, they say the same thing. Businesses need students with so-called “power skills”—the ability to collaborate, communicate, work in teams, solve problems, think critically and show up on time. They can teach employees job-specific skills, but not those power skills.
Now, let’s talk a little more about students. You know what they don’t need? They don’t need crippling college debt. A misconception of career-connected learning is that it’s only aimed at students destined to work in the trades. Exposing them to careers right outside their door—whether or not they require a college degree—lets them learn early where their passions lie. That guards against college-bound students meandering through a series of new majors—shelling out an average of $16,000 a semester—while they explore.
Some keys to career-connected learning
Here are a few lessons I’ve picked up while centering career-connected learning in the districts I’ve served.
1. Collaborate with businesses
We talk early and often with area businesses, and we find they are eager to participate in creating career-oriented learning opportunities. In the past, I’ve participated in creating alliances with neighboring districts to foster career and technical education programs. We’ve partnered with local community colleges and regional chambers of commerce.
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Today, for example, our Jobs for America’s Graduates program targets students who may struggle in a traditional academic setting. It provides career-connected learning courses and work-based learning experiences and so far, we appear to be onto something. With 30 students participating now, it’s grown 50% year over year and is on track to double in three years.
I’m working now on creating an advisory board of local businesses to guide our efforts in the district where I’ve recently begun to serve.
2. Embrace humility
The advisory board, I hope, begins to address this point. Superintendents should humbly approach businesses for help. We shouldn’t assume we have all the answers. And that’s OK. After all, we have a common interest. If students are our “product,” businesses are the client. Let’s listen and learn what students will need to succeed in the workforce.
3. Engage teachers
In the past, I’ve erred by leaving teachers out of the initial planning stages of these programs. I thought I was protecting them from the burden of initiating another program. That was a mistake. Teachers need to be involved from the jump. That’s why the Jobs for America’s Graduates program is off to such a good start: A great teacher took the reins at the beginning.
At Wapahani High School in my current district, we’ve also begun Supporting Wapahani in Future Transformation which, with apologies to a certain mega pop star, we’ve dubbed “SWIFTIES.” This initiative aims to build community buy-in for career-based learning by collaborating with parents, business owners, community members and —yes, definitely, teachers—to discuss career-based learning.
4. Remember: You are an employer
In many of our smaller or rural districts, the schools themselves are often the region’s largest employer. We have people doing jobs in technology, accounting, logistics, maintenance, transportation and the trades. Don’t overlook that. You already have the makings of a work-based learning program that could offer student internships and apprenticeships.
5. Start early
Career exploration can start as early as kindergarten. We have very intentionally taken those youngsters on career exploration trips, introducing them to different careers and helping them understand how the world works. That early exposure can help them learn what they don’t want to do, which is just as valuable as learning what they do want to do.
For all of us, success looks like student participation in their educational goals. It looks like students thriving in a job they love. It looks like starting life without the burden of college debt—whether or not they are college-bound. All we really want is to score wins for the kids we serve.
