Implementation Strategies: Partners
At the heart of many pathway programs is a collaboration between the student, the school, and external partners. Local businesses host and mentor interns and apprentices. Institutions of higher education design, align, and select courses for secondary students. Workforce intermediary organizations build relationships between schools, employers, and other local partners and train them to work together towards skill development, certification, and employment. College intermediary organizations, such as Upward Bound, support student understanding of and access to higher-education options. Community organizations bring cultural expertise and civic engagement to partner with students on real-world projects. Partners like these are essential to ensuring all students have access to and are supported in their completion of pathways. Without them, students may lack the real-world experiences that bring their learning to life.
For role-specific resources, please visit our appendix.
By partners, we mean:
Strategies for Partners
- Host students for internships, apprenticeships, and other forms of work-based learning.
- Work with schools and intermediary organizations to create systems for students to demonstrate their learning and reflect on and grow from feedback.
- Align industry certification requirements with school standards and transferable skills.
- Participate in evaluating student learning and performance.
- Train workforce partners in working with students to develop appropriate skills and meet workplace standards.
- Design early college experiences that align with student pathways, and ensure that credits transfer throughout state post secondary systems and apply to possible majors (colleges and universities).
- Offer courses that align with high-skill, high-wage, in-demand occupations.
- Provide supports and resources that meet students where they are and help them navigate pathways and develop skills needed to succeed in college or careers.
- Work with high school teachers to provide academic, administrative, and student services that foster the smooth transition from secondary to post-secondary institutions.
- Build school schedules and policies that enable student participation in pathway opportunities.
Equity Check
- In what ways is the culture of the workforce in conflict with the culture and needs of schools? What can I do to recognize and address these differences systemically for the success of all of our students?
- Is my organization culturally responsive, or does it privilege working with some students over others?
- To what extent do conflicts between workplace standards and school standards prevent students from participating in pathways?
- What data might we collect on student performance in pathways to evaluate their effectiveness at meeting both workplace and school needs?
- To what extent do the skills and knowledge students develop in career and technical education apply only to a narrow range of careers?
- Are we excluding certain students in the ways we advertise and recruit?
- Are students able to make informed decisions when selecting college credit courses while in high school? In other words, do educators help them understand how college credits might—or might not—transfer to different pathways, certification programs, and majors?
