What is
School-to-Career?

The Federal Workforce Investment Act of 2000 mandated the creation of State and Local Workforce Investment Boards, each to include a focus on youth education, training and employment policy to be overseen by a local Youth Council. Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based national nonprofit organization dedicated to developing strategies for educational and economic opportunity, in its publication What’s Next for School-to-Career?, urges educators to collaborate with local youth councils to leverage resources and coordinate programs for youth.

Nationally, other related educational reform efforts have included:

• New American High Schools
• The Coalition of Essential Schools
• “High Schools that Work”

According to the STC Evaluation White Paper, these initiative and many others all share the following common elements:

• meaningful context for students’ academic work across disciplines
• high expectations with real world standards
• opportunities for all students to be actively engaged in the learning process
• authentic learning environments that motivate all students to learn and to pursue additional education

In California, the Department of Education has integrated these concepts into its key policy directives. Aiming High – High Schools for the 21st Century, published in 2002, builds on the legacy of Second to None and stresses the need for students to be prepared for jobs “at the top of the economic hourglass”, that is, jobs with good pay and the greatest growth rate—jobs that require employees who think and function at high levels.” These are jobs that will also require additional training and education beyond high school.

California has also passed a new 2002 Master Plan that includes a commitment to ensure student preparation for college and future careers. “School-to-Career” concepts, such as the importance of curriculum integration and contextual learning, the value of experiences beyond the classroom, and the importance of career exploration and guidance, are interwoven throughout the document, indicating that these concepts have become embedded in what we know to be simply “good education for all students”. Beyond this, Recommendation #24 specifically states the following:

The State should encourage explicit infusion of age-appropriate school-to-career experiences in public schools, colleges and universities, to provide students with clear curricular and career guidance about the range of post-high school options to which they can aspire and to cultivate greater civic engagement among Californians... A systemic school-to-career strategy would address the current gaps in K-12 education and provide a more coherent continuum, addressing academic, applied, and workforce competencies through an integrated instructional approach.

Finally, and perhaps of greatest practical significance for schools, the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) – the State’s school accrediting agency, includes school-to-career related concepts in its five key accrediting criteria, especially the following three:

Curricular Paths

• All students participate in a rigorous, relevant, and coherent curriculum that supports the achievement of the expected schoolwide learning results.
• All students have access to the school's curricular paths, assistance with the development and ongoing adjustment of a personal learning plan and knowledge of realistic post-secondary opportunities.
• Upon graduation all students are prepared to continue the pursuit of their academic and occupational goals.

Powerful Teaching and Learning

• To achieve the expected schoolwide learning results, all students are involved in challenging learning experiences. Teachers utilize a variety of strategies and resources, including technology, that actively engage students and help them succeed at high levels.
• All students experience learning opportunities that emphasize higher order thinking skills and integrate academic and applied content. Collaboration about teaching and learning occurs 1) among staff, 2) between staff and students,
  3) among students, and 4) between school and community.
• Students routinely use a variety of resources for learning and engage in learning experiences beyond the textbook and the classroom.

Support for Student Personal and Academic Growth

• All students receive appropriate support to help ensure academic success.
• Students have access to a system of personal support services, activities and opportunities at the school and within the community.
• The school leadership employs a wide range of strategies to encourage parental and community involvement.
• The human, material, and financial resources as well as facilities available to the school are sufficient and effectively used to support students in accomplishing the expected schoolwide learning results.

The San Diego County Office of Education has done an exhaustive comparison of school-to-career strategies to WASC criteria and indicators.

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