Hello colleagues,
As I’m sure is true for you, connecting with students is always the best way to keep our team energized and informed. Their stories (re)connect us to our mission, spur new thinking, and often become touchstones that we revisit as we plan and carry out our strategies alongside our partners.
We define pathways by the student experience—both by what we know is missing for far too many students and by what we believe the ideal student experience looks like. You’ll see components of that ideal experience in these stories from AccelerateED communities: early encouragement for students to explore their options, opportunities to get hands-on experience, and guidance to get a meaningful head start on education after high school.
Jesse, Qamar, and Roniel are in different states and on different pathways, but you’ll hear commonalities loud and clear:
- I’m saving time and money.
- I got to try this out first to see if I liked it.
- I’m going to graduate with college credits.
Jesse in Lemont, IL, has a head start on a degree and career in computer science and IT—and an internship under his belt before he even graduates high school:
Qamar, in Kettering, OH, will have a nurse aid certificate this summer and is looking forward to getting more experience to confirm she’s on the right track before entering her senior year of high school:
Roniel, in Lawrence, MA, has a 15-credit head start on his entrepreneurial dreams and solid support structures as he embarks on his Early College Promise Year, a year of college credits that he’ll take at his high school:
As Meagan Mitchell, the pathways manager for the AMP-IT program in Illinois, put it:
“We want to erase the lines between high school, college, and work opportunities by creating seamless transitions for students. Through the pathway experience, students gain a better understanding of their interests and what credentials they might need to reach their goals.” I’m excited about these stories, both the progress they represent and the potential they hold as models for others working to build similar programs.
Thanks for reading (and watching),
Patrick Methvin
Director, Postsecondary Success and Interim Director of Pathways
What we’re reading:
- WorkShift reported on a few creative ways philanthropy and higher ed are collaborating to build pathways that fill the nursing talent gap.
- The Texas Tribune covered a new transfer partnership in the northern part of the state that will make it easier for community college students to get bachelor's degrees at three regional four-years.
- EdWeek broke down a few surveys and data points on how students are making decisions about education after high school—and included some real student stories of success with technical credentials earned in high school or at a community college.
- EdSource celebrated the promise of teaching pathways for high school students—pathways that expose students to the realities of the career early and engage them by “tapping into (their) love of helping others.”