Thanks to the recent $7 million grant, students will benefit from specialized instruction in certain fields, through work experience, internships and mentoring.
Courtesy Photo
Encourages Pathways to Positions in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
The Los Angeles Unified School District received $7 million Youth CareerConnect grant to expand career pathways in health care, biotechnology and other tech-related opportunities at three high schools, as well as business and finance, another high growth area, on three additional campuses.
Students will benefit from specialized instruction linked to these fields, through work experience, internships and mentoring. They will graduate ready for advanced studies in college, an apprenticeship, a paycheck, or all three.
The District was awarded one of the first 24 grants announced by this collaboration between the federal departments of Education and Labor. It is designed to help schools provide more industry-related knowledge and skills.
“These pathways provide additional routes to success for students as they prepare to graduate college-ready and career-prepared,” Superintendent John Deasy said. “This grant recognizes the caliber of instruction in LA Unified, and represents Washington’s faith in our ability to deliver.”
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti sent a letter to the Obama Administration supporting LAUSD. “[The] announcement that Los Angeles Unified School District has been awarded $7 million to expand STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs and Business and Finance education is another huge victory for our city and our students,” Garcetti said. “I’m very pleased this grant will benefit students in Westlake and from South Los Angeles to Sylmar and from the Harbor to Hollywood.”
In L.A. Unified, the six schools are: the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) pilot at Helen Bernstein High School; Sylmar Biotech and Health Academy; Health Information and Technology at Manual Arts Senior High School; Business and Tourism at Miguel Contreras Learning Center; International Business and Trade at Phineas Banning Senior High School and the Responsible Indigenous Social Entrepreneurs (RISE) pilot, which encourages neighborhood and small business development, at Augustus Hawkins Senior High School. These schools, which are not magnets, serve all students.
Business, academic, government, industry and community partners support the pathways. They include local universities and community colleges; hospitals and health care companies; the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the L.A. Chamber of Commerce, the Youth Policy Institute, L.A.’s Promise and the Los Angeles City Workforce Investment Board among others.
“Through this grant students will have opportunities to engage in active learning as they work on real-world projects with professionals in the classroom and in the work place,” Esther Soliman, the Linked Learning Administrator for L.A. Unified, said. “By aligning our STEM and Business and Finance pathways to high-need and high-growth industries in the Los Angeles area, we are preparing our students for a successful transition to college and career.”
The Bernstein STEM pilot, a certified linked-learning school, currently offers career pathways in medicine and engineering, according to the principal Paul Hirsch. His students are currently taking courses such as: introduction to engineering, principles of engineering, digital electronics, and engineering development and design or BioMed principles, human body systems, medical interventions and biomedical innovations.
