Career Academies and Pathways

The creation of academies and pathways represents another level of school reform, beyond instructional change. While not imperative for high quality teaching and learning, career academies and pathways offer the structures and vehicles that can facilitate integrated, authentic learning for students. They do this by allowing for cross-disciplinary collaboration; by offering coherent themes that provide focus for students; by enrolling students who have an expressed interest in a thematic area, and so are inherently motivated; by structuring their class schedules to allow for project work and community and work-based experiences; and by creating industry advisory committees that can inform the curriculum. In addition, with their small scale and the constancy of the faculty team over two or more years, career academies personalize the learning environment so that the individual needs of each student is known. Finally, pathways foster the development of skills that provide students a sense of competence and direction for the future.

Career academies can be defined as clusters of students and teachers working together over two (2) or more years as a “school–within–a–school” or “small learning community.” The learning is organized around a broad career-related theme which provides context for the academic curriculum. Technical courses, such as those offered by the Regional Occupational Program (ROP), may be integrated into the curriculum, and work-based learning, such as job shadowing or internships, may be offered. A student formally enrolls in a career academy.

Career academies are created with support from various sources. Those who meet eligibility criteria can apply to the California Department of Education (CDE) to become California Partnership Academies. CDE Specialized Secondary Program funding also promotes smaller learning communities. Others may apply for federal “Smaller Learning Communities” grants. The National Academy Foundation supports curriculum and professional development for academies in the areas of Finance, Hospitality and Tourism, and Information Technology. Often, schools and districts create academies on their own, simply because they believe it is the right way to structure teaching and learning for students. The Liberty Union High School District is one such example.

Career pathways are coherent sequences of courses, including both academic and career/technical courses, that students pursue for the purpose of exploring areas of interest. In some cases, students choose a pathway to actually prepare for future study and work in that career area. Students may or may not pursue this pathway with other students in a consistent group. Technical courses, such as those offered by the ROP, may be integrated into the pathway program, and work-based learning, such as job shadowing or internships, may be offered.

Tech Prep programs connected to local community colleges, and Carl D. Perkins funding support the development of pathways through collaborative planning and professional development, but many schools form pathways independently.

Ideally courses at the high school level are “articulated” with courses at the community college level. Articulation is “a planned process linking two or more educational systems to help students make a smooth transition from the secondary level of occupational and educational experience to the post-secondary level without experiencing delay or duplication of learning”. (Workforce Silicon Valley, Articulation Handbook, February 1999). Articulation agreements are generally crafted between individual high schools and/or ROP/C’s and their local colleges, requiring collaboration between instructors at each site to align course objectives and programs. These agreements can help ensure continuity of skill development and career preparation for students.

Regional Occupational Programs are important partners in both academies and pathways. They often provide the technical courses and the culminating “capstone” courses for pathways. They also provide an important vehicle for students to participate in work-based learning, since the Education Code provides for teacher monitoring of students at the worksite. In two of the academies at Sir Francis Drake High School, high school and ROP teachers work side by side, with the ROP teachers bringing the technical knowledge that makes the projects work.

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Please see the following web sites for more in depth understanding, tools and resources specifically for the creation of academies and pathways.

Career Academy Support Network (CASN), located at U.C. Berkeley, provides a wealth of information on and support for academies. (More resources in "tools" section.)

Jobs for the Future has many resources and publications on their website, including a Diagnostic Guide for Creating Career Pathways. See Connected Learning Communities – A Toolkit for Reinventing High School.

Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation has a directory that lists guides and handbooks, articles, documents for purchase, resources available upon request, newsletters and journals, evaluations and research, websites and additional funding all with direct link. See Getting Connected – A Resource Directory for Career Academies.

National Academy Foundation is a national network of career academies centered around three themes finance, travel & tourism, and information technology. Their resource center has resources and tools applicable to any career theme. Their Academy Planning Guide is available here on .

National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC), is a coalition of schools, teachers, students and business that support career academies. See their Career Academy Toolkit for an action plan and timeline.

Preparation for College and Careers: A Guide for Organizing Learning Around Career Themes is available by calling Peralta Community College District at (510) 466-7210.

Small Learning Communities is a federally funded program that creates small sub-schools within large high schools.

Career Pathway Rubric, developed by Roman Stearns and Peter Crabtree available here for download in .

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