There is a long-standing adage in school campus planning that says, “don’t pave the sidewalks until you see where students are walking – pave where they walk and have killed the grass.” That seems like a practical plan. On the other hand, academic curriculum planners do not inquire as to what children want to learn. They assume the tradition of college preparation. If we planned K-12 curriculum like we plan K-12 sidewalks, the curriculum children learn in school would be different than it is today.
What do we know?
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction boldly claims the mission of preparing children in Wisconsin to be college and career ready. The DPI says, “Public schools are working to graduate every child ready for college and career.” But what does college and career ready mean?
“In addition to having knowledge in academic content areas, the Wisconsin way of college and career readiness values skills and habits. Our graduates must be critical thinkers, able to communicate effectively, collaborate with others, and solve real world problems. Ultimately, we want our kids to be good adults.”
https://dpi.wi.gov/families-students/student-success/ccr
Reads like a good plan. There are two end points in public education: preparation for college and preparation for entering a career. However, reading like a good plan and being a good plan are vastly different.
Again, from the DPI. “The state graduation requirements under Wis. Stats. 118.33 and 118.33(1m)(a)1, Section 3266R total 15 credits and the successful passing of a civics exam. The 15 credits include the following:
- English/Language Arts – 4 credits
- Math – 3 credits
- Science – 3 credits
- Social Studies – 3 credits
- Physical Education – 1.5 credits
- Health – .5 credit in grades 7-12 (needed but not part of the 15 credits due to grades 7-8)
- Personal Finance – .5 credit
https://dpi.wi.gov/graduation/requirements
Further, the DPI describes elective credits, in the range of 8.5 credits, that a school board may add to the state’s 15 credits. In examining a variety of school districts, most boards strengthen the college preparatory pathway by adding credits in social studies, science, PE, foreign language, the arts, and computer technology.
Further yet, the small print in district publications describes articulated or dual credits and apprenticeship programs. Articulated or dual credits are awarded for courses at the high school or technical college or college/university that a high school student may take and receive both high school and post-high school credit.
The reality is “A minority of students said their school offer opportunities to learn job-related skills, practice applying or interviewing for jobs, or work on projects related to a career they want to pursue.” “Less than a quarter of high schoolers reported having ‘a lot’ of conversations about non-college pathways such as apprenticeships or internships (23 percent), careers that don’t require a degree (19 percent), or starting a business of their own (13 percent).”
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/do-students-think-what-theyre-learning-matters/2024/08F
Where is the career pathway?
The curriculum we provide, and the curriculum children want.
Let us backward design high school curriculum.
“In October 2023, 61.4 percent of 2023 high school graduates ages 16 to 24 were enrolled in colleges of universities, little changed from the previous year. Among recent graduates, ages 16 to 24, 57.6% of men and 65.3 percent of women were enrolled in college. Among 16- to 24-year-olds, 43.7% of recent high school dropouts were working or looking for work. There were 18.0 million people ages 16 to 24 who were not enrolled in school, 45.6% of this age group.”
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm
Using the sidewalk paving model, 60% of high school students need a college prep curriculum and 40% need a career prep curriculum. Therefore, 40% of a high school curriculum should be CTE.
From the DPI –
“Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs provide students with a foundation for a wide range of careers that reflect the contemporary workplace.
Academic & Technical Skills – CTE programs promote life-long learning in a global society.
Work-based Learning – CTE programs strengthen business and education partnerships to provide students with opportunities to reinforce skills and behaviors for the workforce.”
These are the sixteen Career Clusters, and the Pathways described by the DPI.
- Agriculture Food and Natural Resources
- Architecture and Construction
- Arts, Audio/Video Technology and Communication
- Business Management and Administration
- Education and Training
- Finance
- Government and Public Administration
- Hospitality and Tourism
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
- Transportation Distribution and Logistics
https://dpi.wi.gov/sites/default/files/imce/cte/pdf/career_cluster_handout_v1.pdf
The DPI site describes an Academic and Career Planning process that “…leads naturally to a career pathway. In K-12 education, a career pathway is a series of connected career and technical education and training opportunities that move seamlessly into a a post secondary options for a specific career area. A high school career pathway includes:
- A sequence of career and technical education courses
- Opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials
- Work-based learning experiences
- Dual-enrollment opportunities
- Career and technical student organization related activities
The Big Duh!
I know grads of our local school who own, manage, and run businesses, resorts, construction companies, studios, serve in hospitals and clinics, law enforcement, and are paraprofessionals in schools. They are highly successful in work that does require a baccalaureate degree. As I reflect on their secondary school experience, they completed a college prep curriculum because we said, “it will be good for them” and “they will be prepared for college should they decide to go.” The reality is our school did not assist them in their career pathway, we got in the way.
School boards do not need to invent career and technical education or its pathways. They exist. School boards need to re-evaluate their priorities, acknowledge the 40% of graduates who do not enroll in a college or university, and start paving a CTE curriculum where students’ footprints already exist.