Pathways

A Pathway is a method of searching for a career that fits a student's interests and lifestyle and then allows the student to build academic courses around it. The Pathway recommends individual high school courses – both academic and career-related – to concentrate on which are specifically geared toward the student's chosen career. All of this planning starts as early as middle/junior high school and continues as the student advances through high school.

Educator's Guide to Pathways - PDF
Pathway Career Charts and Key - PDF
Pathways List - PDF

Work-Based Learning (WBL) experiences are available in each Pathway. Through a variety of WBL experiences students see, firsthand, how classroom instruction connects to the world of work and future career opportunities. Experiences include, but are not limited to, apprenticeships, career fairs, field studies, guest speakers, job shadows, and student internships.

General Tips:
Work-Based Learning provides opportunities for students to learn a variety of skills through rigorous academic preparation with hands-on career development experiences. Under the guidance of adult mentors, students learn to work in teams, solve problems, and meet employers’ expectations.

• The availability of specific course offerings and related Pathways vary by school. Many courses offer concurrent enrollment opportunities for students and may provide a seamless transition for students into college business programs. Students should contact their school counselor about specific course offerings and concurrent enrollment opportunities.
  
• Required foundation courses provide the essential knowledge base for each Pathway.

Benefits of Career Pathways:

• Students use Pathways to investigate a wide range of career choices. Pathways make it easier for students to understand the relevance of required courses and select elective courses more wisely.
• Parents learn what academic and technical courses their children need for college and a variety of career fields. Pathways and the high standards that go with them reassure parents that their children will be fully prepared for college and the workplace.
• School counselors and WBL coordinators use Pathways to help students explore options for the future. Current information on the academic, technical, and college requirements for a wide range of careers will be readily available.
• Teachers use Pathways to promote programs, increase student participation, and encourage students to persist in training beyond high school.
• Schools use Pathways to organize to meet the demands of post-secondary education and the expectations of employers.
• Employers partner with schools to contribute to the development of high academic standards that help students prepare for work and help workers keep their skills up to date. Employers gain workers who are prepared to learn new skills, adjust to technological change, and advance their careers.

Transition to Post-Secondary and/or Career:

• Work-Based Learning provides students with the opportunity to see how classroom instruction connects to the world of work and future career opportunities.
• Work-Based Learning improves post-secondary prospects for each student.
• Work-Based Learning helps students understand workplace expectations.

Our vision is to see that all students have the opportunity to learn skills and to be introduced to the working world outside of book learning, through a variety of Work-Based Learning activities that will enable them to be prepared to enter the workforce upon graduation from high school.

Updated December 10, 2010