Students on the Path to Career Success

     When I entered the conference room, all I could see was a grouping of people around somebody lying on a table covered with a sheet. A young lady in a white lab coat asked loudly, “Sir, where are your injuries?” She leaned in over the examining table as other medical staff moved quickly around the table to prepare the patient for emergency treatments. The patient is not really an injured man; he is an invaluable hands-on teaching manikin. Nearby, students were molding clay into internal anatomical parts to place on a three foot skeleton. Across the room, on big screen TVs were amazing 3-D graphics displayed behind laptops with Wall Street tickers scrolling across. In another corner of the room, a brightly colored rug was dotted with little kindergarteners reading along with a middle school student helping them with primary reading skills. In the middle of the room on top of tables pushed together was a wooden maze with a small handmade robot navigated by remote control. On April 26, these were some of the many demonstrations performed by students in the Aurora Public Schools Pathways to Results Celebration. 

     These demonstrations highlight the academic and career centered courses known as Pathways. These rigorous courses are aimed at preparing students for post high school education and the workforce. Pathways offers career exploration and hands-on on learning in Arts & Communication, Business, Health Sciences, and STEM which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Middle and high school students demonstrated their skills acquired in the various subjects. Arts & Communications students practiced teaching reading skills to grade school students. Business students demonstrated their knowledge and experience with following and studying the stock market as well as business blogging about it. The Health Sciences students showed off their knowledge of anatomy with clay sculptures and practiced treatments on a simulated emergency patient. The STEM students ran a robot they constructed through a maze while displaying their computer 3-D graphics. 

     The Academic & Career Pathways is a partnership program which involves the Aurora Public Schools and a partnership developed by APS, the Community Workforce Planning Team, or CWPT. Members of both organizations were present to experience the results of their dedication and development of the Academic & Career Pathways. In front of an audience of more than 200 people, guest speaker, Colorado Lieutenant Governor Joe Garcia joined APS Superintendent John L. Barry as they explained how invaluable this kind of education is as real-life field experience in order to be competitive both in the work force and in post high school endeavors. They focused on the importance of the program and the precedent it sets for educational strategies in Colorado public schools. Mr. Garcia said, "APS is one of the leading districts in the state of Colorado demonstrating what's possible with P-20 education and academic and career pathways." The Pathways program is designed to get students on a career path from the elementary classroom through graduation. These courses teach students specialized skills so they are more prepared and therefore more competitive when entering the workforce or as Superintendent John Barry stated, “to strategically position students for success and respond to changing industry needs.”