Multiple pathways to graduation, emphasizing CTE, should be encouraged. Why? To promote STEM skills and advance social justice. Public schools have never been better positioned to ensure that all students tap into their full potential. They can focus on the individual learning styles and interests of all students. At the same time, an opportunity exists to address our nation’s current and future employment and economic needs. Providing student-focused pathways to graduation that are future-focused has the potential to guarantee that students leave public education with the skills that allow them to adapt to the changing economy they will encounter.
The Issue of Inequity
The issue of inequity has plagued public education in America for centuries. We have long known that our current system of educating young people does not work for everyone. Achievement gaps are a stain on our system, holding our young people back from future opportunities. When schools become culturally responsive and sensitive settings for children, all students will thrive, and society will benefit. We have to keep the work of equity, inclusivity, and personalized learning practices at the forefront of our planning. Ensuring that all students have equal access to CTE pathways to graduation can address the inequities in our system. Additionally, it can bolster the STEM economy.
Modern Public Education
Public education in the twenty-first century finds itself in an extremely turbulent situation. Yet, it is also well-positioned to make inroads into equity and economic stability. An institution once venerated and looked upon as the great liberator is under attack. At the same time, it is positioned to demonstrate its significance and necessity. Both sides of the political spectrum criticize public education for valid reasons. One side sees an extremely inefficient and perhaps unnecessary system that wastes valuable resources and no longer yields past returns. The other perceives an opportunity to bring about significant reform to ensure that the system no longer disenfranchises a substantial portion of the population it was designed to serve.
This dynamic occurs when the institution is well-positioned to ensure that all students are equitably served and strengthen the nation’s economy. A well-rounded academic program with an appropriate emphasis on CTE will allow for creating a system that stresses the individual learning characteristics and interests of the learner while focusing on the country’s current and future economic needs.
How does STEM make a difference?
In a 2013 Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution report, Jonathan Rothwell stated:
“Workers in STEM fields play a direct role in driving economic growth. Yet, because of how the STEM economy has been defined, policymakers have mainly focused on supporting workers with at least a bachelor’s degree, overlooking a strong potential workforce of those with less than a BA.”
The provision of an educational program focused on propping up the STEM economy has the potential to ensure that public education creates fulfilled, contributing citizens and can allow us to focus on the individual aspirations and abilities of all the students we serve. This goal can be obtained by engaging in redesign of public education as outlined in AASA’s 2021 report, An American Imperative: A New Vision for Public Schools. Such a redesign can result in an emphasis on multiple pathways to graduation that stress lifelong learning, employability, personal interest, and life enrichment.
As we begin reimagining education in light of COVID-19, we must ask ourselves something. Why would we even consider returning to policies and practices that have proven to be inequitable and inefficient? We have an opportunity to address many wrongs and injustices that have existed for far too long.
A New Normal
As schools consider operating under a “new normal,” our actions must be responsive, compassionate, inclusive, nuanced, and clear. We can reimagine education. Additionally, we can make positive changes from this experience. However, we have to include all stakeholders in the process. Students, families, faculty and staff, higher education, the business sector, and the community at large must come together and rally around creating educational programs for K–12 students that adequately prepare them for the challenges that the future has in store for them.
Students need the foundational skills that have always been crucial. However, they also need to have the freedom to pursue their desires and focus on their strengths. Families and caregivers need to be informed of the possibilities that exist for their children and the multiple pathways that exist to actualize their pursuits.
The push to ensure that all students would go to college forced schools to limit offerings and left many unfulfilled. In underserved communities, this push only exasperated the inequities that existed. The conditions that existed in these districts did not lend themselves to a focus on multiple pathways to graduation to begin with. Far too many offered few electives beyond the state requirements. I recall a district where the valedictorian could not gain acceptance into several state colleges due to the lack of depth in her transcript.
Connecting with the World
More often than not, students were engaged in college-bound pathways that did not connect the world they were experiencing or the economy that awaited them. Countless students and families incurred massive debt in pursuit of a college degree that would not lead to gainful employment. Due to an inability or unwillingness to provide other meaningful pathways, they were unable to develop the technical skills that were needed to fill the employment vacancies that existed in their communities. Concomitantly, employers were unable to recruit a workforce with the skills they needed, creating an avoidable crisis.
Students’ Wellbeing
Throughout the course of my career, I have been concerned about the well-being of all of my students. As we know, the circumstances that surround certain students give us reason to be more concerned about some more than others. We all have suffered many sleepless nights fretting over students dealing with the unfair hand dealt them by life.
Having spent the first two-thirds of my career working in high-need districts, I had great concerns about my students suffering from poverty. Who wouldn’t have enough food over a weekend, over a break, over the summer? Who was not going to be properly supervised? And who had to witness the abuse of a loved one the night before or was abused themselves? The ravages of poverty can wreak havoc on students’ lives. This causes learning to be the least of their worries.
One Student’s Story
However, I met the student that I was most concerned about when I began working in a very affluent suburban school district. Far from being a victim of poverty, he came from a privileged family and had more than any of the students I had worked with in the past. This child was an exceptional student who excelled in all of his coursework. At the time, he was in his senior year and was taking seven Advanced Placement courses. He sacrificed a lunch period to ensure he was taking all the classes he “had to take” to succeed. He came to me distressed over the grading policy of one of his teachers. The student was concerned that his grade in the class would prevent him from gaining acceptance in a particular pre-med program at a particular college.
At first, I was convinced he was simply overworked and was, quite frankly, blowing the issue out of proportion. Several conversations with him led me to become increasingly concerned about his state of mental wellness. I worried that this young man would take his own life if he did not get into the college of his choice. He was convinced that not doing so would ruin his chances of a fulfilling life. I took the appropriate steps with his family and school counselor to ensure he received the help he needed. Still, this experience, coupled with many conversations I had with other students and family members, caused me to look more closely at the unrealistic expectations of this community and the culture of the school district in general.
The Need for Multiple Pathways to Graduation
What I discovered was troubling in several aspects. It became clear that what was valued was a single pathway to graduation. One focused on heavy participation in Advanced Placement courses and acceptance to prestigious institutes of higher education. In fact, this particular pathway was the only one celebrated and recognized. Pathways with a focus on CTE or those that led to the military were looked down upon.
This placed undue stress on students, families, and faculty. Students with interests and goals that would have led them to a different path were made to feel less than. Many students had aspirations that would lead to the military or a technical career. Yet, they felt forced to engage in a pathway that was not appropriate for them. As a result, effective pathways were not easily accessible to all students. They were denied the opportunity to learn the skills and competencies to engage in a fulfilling and productive school experience.
This equity dilemma led to the creation of a committee of stakeholders. This committee would convene and craft a plan to guarantee all students access to an appropriate pathway to graduation. The mission of the committee was multi-purpose. Firstly, to ensure that multiple pathways are made easily accessible. Secondly, that these pathways effectively offer all students the opportunity to learn the skills, competencies, and emotional intelligence to gain, keep, and advance in a fulfilling and highly-productive career journey.
Equal Opportunity Education
Equal access to all the opportunities a school district has to offer requires that we focus on each student. A single pathway to graduation that can be defined as better than any other should not exist. It cannot be said that one pathway is superior to another. For example, a pathway that includes multiple AP courses and acceptance to a prestigious institution of higher education has no greater value than a career and technical pathway that leads to technical school or directly into the workplace. The right pathway is determined by the student and that individual student’s interests, goals, strengths, and aspirations. All pathways to graduation have equal value. The best pathway is determined by the student, in conjunction with caregivers, supported by school counselors. It is based on the individual student’s strengths and aspirations.
Our Pathways Committee initiated conversations with students, families, faculty, and alumni to educate the community about the benefits of STEM and CTE education. We quickly learned the value of making students and families aware of the opportunities of STEM and CTE pathways as early as possible. During a conversation with high school students, one senior expressed that she wished she knew that CTE opportunities were an option. She said, “I would have made very different choices and had a much happier high school experience.” This statement had an impactful effect on every committee member. The decision was made to focus on students and families in grades four through eight and those in high school.
The Importance of Professional Development
We also discovered that in addition to educating students and families, a considerable amount of professional development was needed for the faculty, especially for the school counselors. Even more important than the PD was the message from the Board of Education and the Leadership Team that all pathways to graduation were equally valued.
To help the community’s perception of success evolve and to promote access to more CTE and STEM education, a rebranding of multiple pathways was necessary. The committee was charged with eliminating any stigma that was associated with alternate pathways and celebrating them. One method for celebrating a career and technical pathway was strengthening our relationship with our local Board of Cooperative Education Service (BOCES). We highlighted the pathways that existed through our BOCES and its Center for Advanced Technology (CAT). These events were hosted at the CAT and highlighted the pathways that currently existed. They also highlighted the potential careers and opportunities that would become available to students pursuing these other options.
We invited guests from local industries to explain their current labor shortages. Additionally, we wanted them to discuss the skills they were looking for in potential employees. Employers described how CTE pathways could lead to gainful employment that would solidly land them in the middle class. Successful graduates from those pathways told stories of their ability to be engaged in fulfilling work while saving money for college or even having college paid for by their employer. Others could tell inquiring students and families about their ability to earn a middle-class living without the burden of college debt.
STEM: The Backbone of Education
STEM education is an integral component of every pathway to graduation. Traditional pathways focusing on STEM have created fulfilled, productive graduates for years in almost every imaginable field. However, countless other pathways to graduation are available to all of the students we serve. Career and technical pathways are all too often overlooked and undervalued. This is true even though they can lead to equally fulfilling and enriching results. Regardless of the path any student selects, the process for that decision has to be inclusive.
About the Author
COSIMO TANGORRA, JR., ED.D.
Dr. Cosimo Tangorra, Jr. is superintendent of schools for the New Hartford Central School District. He has extensive and varied management experience in P–12 Education. Additionally, he has been a teacher, academic administrator, principal, and superintendent of schools. He also served as Deputy Commissioner of Education for the State of New York. School District Reorganization is an area of professional interest for Dr. Tangorra and was the topic of his doctoral dissertation.
An advocate for equity, he is dedicated to strategic planning that focuses on programs that prepare students for “their futures and not our past,” modernizing school facilities, and community partnerships. In his chapter, Dr. Tangorra outlines how one school district worked to create a culture that embraces multiple pathways to graduation with an emphasis on the individual goals, strengths, and aspirations of all students.
Dr. Tangorra received his associate’s degree from Herkimer County Community College. He also received a bachelor of arts from Siena College, his master’s degree from the College of Saint Rose, Certificate of Advanced Study from SUNY Cortland, and a doctorate in education (Ed.D.) from the Sage Colleges.
