On October 15th, MBAE and The Boston Foundation held a timely conversation about the need for Massachusetts to expand career-connected learning in high school. It’s no longer an option, it’s become an imperative.

At the standing-room only event, “From Classroom to Career: A New Vision for High School in Massachusetts,” school and district leaders, employers, education-policy advocates, and state leaders heard Commissioner of Education Pedro Martinez, Boston Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper, and a panel of local and national experts discuss the urgent need to strengthen and scale career-focused learning experiences that help students identify their interests, expose and guide them to realizable career paths, and develop critical skills for future economic success.

Commissioner Martinez underscored the importance of quality career counseling and navigation supports for students, particularly those who have disabilities, are multilingual, or come from low-income and traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. “You know, I grew up in an era where people would say, ‘What do you want to be? You know, in this country, you can be whatever you want to be.’ And I always thought that was the wrong question. I think the real question should have been ‘What interests you? What ignites you?’ And let me show you how to get there. Let me show you the courses you have to take and the degrees or certifications you have to get. That should have been the question instead … especially if you’re a first generation student, because we don’t have that knowledge. Our parents don’t have that knowledge. So [schools] have to make those connections for them.”

The Commissioner named rapidly scaling college and career pathways like Early College and CTE as a key strategy to ensuring that students have access to quality wrap-around supports that enable them to make deep career connections. He also highlighted the strong positive impact these programs have had on students’ academic achievement and engagement, stressing that Massachusetts must not abandon the commitment to high standards and excellence that made its public school system the best in the nation. “Student achievement matters,” said Martinez. “When people minimize that, it is very frustrating because you know who loses out? It is our children experiencing poverty. It is our children with disabilities. These are the children furthest from opportunity. They’re the ones that lose out.”

Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper described the work she is leading to “create an ecosystem of choice, access, and opportunity” for every high school student. Priorities included:

• Giving students more options – Instead of creating programmatic silos and a scheduling system where students are effectively locked into a path (like Early College or CTE) they choose early on in their academic careers, BPS is exploring ways students can participate in and “stack” a variety of diverse learning experiences over the course of high school.
• Reaching students earlier through MyCAP – As early as the 7th grade, BPS students start contemplating future career options using a multi-year, post secondary planning tool and process called MyCAP (My Career and Academic Plan). Together, with teachers and guidance counselors, students identify their passions and skillsets, their future goals, and the educational track they’ll need to take to reach them. It also helps students best choose which high school within the BPS system is most suitable for their goals.
• Establishing industry partnerships and deepening collaboration – Experiential learning models accelerate readiness for career and invigorate the student experience. The Superintendent highlighted the Edward M Kennedy School of Health Careers’s (EMK Institute) partnerships with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Mass General Hospital, and other community health care centers that allow EMK students to take health-career specific academic courses while participating in work-based learning experiences that provide real experience in the field.
• Promoting Flexibility – Although state regulations and teachers unions’ concerns remain challenges to rethinking student seat time requirements in ways that open up students’ schedules for college and career pathways and other non-traditional learning experiences, Skipper continues to explore innovative ways to deliver dynamic, career-based instruction to students.

A panel of school/district leaders and local and national experts echoed similar points. In particular, they emphasized the need for seat-time flexibility to make this work possible. They also drove home the importance of strong collaboration across state agencies, employers and industry partners, higher-education leaders, K12 educators, and community-based organizations.

MBAE looks forward to collaborating with these and other partners to strengthen and expand career-connected learning statewide.