ConnectEd supports the demonstration, expansion, and replication of promising practices and programs that prepare students for success in college and career. Crucial to this work is promoting model pathways—challenging, comprehensive programs of study that connect academics with professional and technical education and are organized around such fields as business and finance, biomedical and health sciences, building and environmental design, engineering, advanced manufacturing, law and government, transportation, hospitality and tourism, communications, arts and entertainment, and education and social services. ConnectEd focuses on assisting schools that commit to the following objectives:
- Develop comprehensive programs of academic and technical courses—organized around broad industry themes or career clusters, spanning two or more grades, and articulated to a full range of postsecondary options;
- Emphasize challenging academic and technical knowledge, including attention to the "a to g" requirements established by the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems for postsecondary admissions;
- Demonstrate a clear commitment to increasing the number of students, especially those at high risk of dropping out, who graduate from high school ready for both college and work;
- Conduct rigorous evaluation, including adoption of quantifiable measures of student outcomes, collection of timely and reliable data, and reflection by teachers and other program staff on the meaning of evaluation results for ongoing program improvement;
- Involve academic and technical teachers, postsecondary educators, business representatives, and other stakeholders in program planning and implementation;
- Recognize the need for supplemental instruction and other services required to help lower achieving students succeed in demanding programs of academic and technical study;
- Capitalize on opportunities for well-structured work-based learning, including mentoring, job shadowing, and paid internships; and
- Support appropriate professional development for faculty, such as strengthening the ability of technical teachers to teach higher level academic knowledge and developing the capacity of academic teachers to teach rich, authentic application of academics to work-related problems.
Through grants, technical assistance, resource sharing, and other activities, the Center seeks to build a network of schools throughout California that are dedicated to strengthening and expanding multiple pathways to college and career.
