Pursuing Rigor, Relevance, and Equity: Student Pathways in San Bernardino

Meeting 40
December 18-19, 2019
San Bernardino, California

High school pathways seek to align coursework under a broad theme and provide access to rigorous academics and work-based learning in a way that offers both college and career preparation for all students. In December 2020, the California Collaborative on District Reform convened to explore pathways as a vehicle for equity, considering both the opportunities and the challenges associated with the approach. Meeting participants interacted with a range of partners in San Bernardino City Unified School District to explore the motivation for and promises of pathways work, the nature of learning opportunities in the workplace and the classroom, attention to equity in the design and implementation of pathways, and efforts to monitor progress over time. Resources from the meeting, including a summary of the group’s conversation, are now available below. 

Meeting 40 Summary

Logistics

Briefing Book

• Cover Letter
• Agenda
• Why Pathways?
• SBCUSD Background
• Workplace Learning
• Applied Learning in the Classroom
• Staffing Challenges
• Measuring Progress, Ensuring Equity

Follow-Up
Policy and practice briefs produced as an outcome from Meeting 40.

The Career Pathways Approach: A Way Toward Equity?
August 2020

In 2019, career pathways were offered in one-third of U.S. school districts, including more than 500 in California. A new brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform, The Career Pathways Approach: A Way Towards Equity?, examines the equity promise and challenge of pathways. At a time when traditional school experiences have been upended, students may struggle even more than normal to understand the relevance of their schoolwork and to connect it to opportunities after high school. Pathways can offer opportunities to enhance engagement, develop social capital, and build 21st century skills, especially for the most vulnerable students. To help pathways designers and implements fulfill the potential of the pathways approach, this brief offers conditions for equitable implementation and parallel strategies for success.

Brief