Like Odds-Beating High Schools in NY, More States Across Country Focus on Career Education

by Catherine Kramer, NYKids Research Assistant

Education Week reports that educators in states across the country are increasingly emphasizing career education. To do this, local district and school leaders, sometimes in partnership with public and private organizations in their communities, are analyzing workforce data and looking for trends to assist in creating career and technical educational opportunities. Some are even beginning to expose youth to these pathways as early as elementary and middle school.

Read more: Growing Numbers of States Embrace Career Education

This attention to providing young people with opportunities to explore a variety of pathways to a career was evident in odds-beating high schools in NYKids’ most recent Critical Needs College and Career Readiness Study. Many of the secondary schools in the study developed creative ways of preparing young people for careers after graduation and with an eye toward sustaining and building their own surrounding communities.

A case in point: At Crown Point Central School, about half the juniors and seniors attend a career and technical program to begin learning trades. Students at Crown Point also pursue independent studies and access the art and technology rooms during the day and after school. Many students go out into the community to gain hands-on experience, which the Crown Point principal noted is an important way to connect young people to adults in their communities.

Similarly, in Maple Grove Junior/Senior High School, students are offered a range of learning opportunities that are academic as well as  practical. For example, students can learn agricultural skills such as planning a school farm and working with hydroponics.

Read more about the career preparation practices happening in odds-beating high schools.