Career and Technical Education for All

Real-World Examples

There are a range of organizations working to tighten the K–12-to-workforce connection in different ways.

In 1995, two longtime teachers founded Big Picture Learning with a vision of a mentored, work-focused high school education where students’ interests were at the core of curriculum and assessment. What started in one school in Rhode Island has now expanded to more than 110 school partnerships across the U.S., through which students engage in significant chunks of real-world learning outside the classroom—up to twice a week—with experts in their field of interest.

Dayvon, a student at a Big Picture Learning school in Nashville, said the program helps students with a variety of interests. “I have friends who want to be veterinarians, OB-GYNs, orthodontists, and the fact that they actually get to work in an orthodontist office or actually go to a vet clinic is very engaging,” he said.

A San Diego student named Izzy said that her Big Picture Learning school allows her to build an understanding of herself and the different pathways that exist, even though she doesn’t yet know what she wants to do in the future.

“There are so many different opportunities that the school provides for me to investigate,” she said. “And that’s really what drives me, because I am a little indecisive. So it really just shows me, ‘Hey, you don’t really want to do that,’ or ‘That’s a little too scary,’ or ‘Oh don’t go into being a doctor, you don’t like blood.’ Different things like that. I think that’s a lot of students as well, we just don’t know yet. So that we get to experience every single thing.”

Another career-focused program, “World of Work” was created and launched in 2017 by the Cajon Valley Union School District outside San Diego. Through the K–12 program, every student has the opportunity to explore more than 50 different careers to understand their passions and purpose and how they can best contribute in the world. The program starts with broad explorations of possible careers, including an interests and aptitudes test, followed by classroom simulations of the work that interests students most. Then, students meet professionals working in those fields to learn more about the day-to-day and build social capital. The program has grown beyond El Cajon; for example, four districts in the Pittsburgh area have adopted it.

Meanwhile, the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) network has grown from a small group of students doing internships and projects for businesses in the Kansas City area to more than 170 school districts across 23 states. CAPS supports school districts to partner with local businesses to offer “profession-based learning,” where students study and sample various professional fields, both through their academic work in school and during immersive onsite learning experiences at partner companies. This model allows students to take classes in an academic track rather than opt for a full CTE experience, while also connecting academic learning to a possible career in fields like healthcare, engineering, business, biosciences, creative media, and technology.

These types of school-business partnerships solve one of the biggest challenges plaguing the Computer Science for All movement. Rather than relying on certified teachers to build knowledge about in-demand industries, they tap actual employers who—in varying levels of involvement and intensity—mentor, teach, and provide real-world learning opportunities for students.

While the benefits for schools and students are clear, for these partnerships to persist over the longer term, they’ll need to prove their worth to the employers and professionals whose time and expertise make them possible. There needs to be a clear payoff for employers’ partnership, such as added capacity against business goals, increased community awareness, or a stronger local workforce, where workers are better prepared to fill needed positions.