High School Choice, Part 2

Heidi Gilman Bennett

 

At Forward Albemarle, we’ve been spending a lot of time trying to understand the new high school Career Learning Communities alongside our freshman teens… so, here’s an explainer to catch you up! (And if you’re a 9th grade parent who is missing the basics, look here.)

Here are some reasons we’re excited:

  • Student Engagement – Really can’t dismiss this as a “nice-to-have,” as kids who are engaged actually show up to school and learn. ACPS students are less satisfied and persist less in college, so we are all for focusing on developing highly-engaged students.

  • Graduation is Not The Endgame – What parents want for kids is not just a diploma, but to actually have a satisfying life… whether that’s college or work or most likely both. Yes, please help our kids begin to think about meaningful careers! They’re not ready.

  • Research-Based Models – ACPS has put years of thinking into high school redesign. If your kids were littles when this started, don’t worry… Virginia’s pathways and our local model are based on success in other places like South Carolina and California.

  • Equitable Outcomes – SOME of the comparable programs have shown positive impacts for all kids in college & career readiness AND also:  African-American students earned more high school credits, English language learners less likely to drop out, and more.

And yet, here’s why we’re concerned (teaser, it’s about equity & implementation):

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School Resource Officers

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Interpreting Virginia Growth Assessment Data