Empowering future generations of Coloradans to thrive
by: Elizabeth Shalda, 2024 Urban Leaders Fellow, Colorado Succeeds
What do we want to be true about the future of Colorado’s students? In working with Colorado Succeeds and speaking with school leaders & community partners, the answer came up again and again: opportunity matched by preparedness.
Colorado Succeeds’ model of policy and implementation allowed me to step into both spaces and contribute as their Urban Leaders Fellow. As an educator, I deeply appreciated getting to explore the direct impact that policy has on the lives of the students in our state. I found myself much farther upstream than I have been in the past – rather than learning about policy that’s been passed because it is currently impacting me or requiring a shift in my practice, I was exploring what’s already being done in order to inform what might be next.
One of my projects was researching, and then capturing the alumni stories of our various pathway programs in the state, as they relate to the ‘1215 Task Force’ Recommendations. This Task Force was established to make recommendations for simplifying and expanding access to the many high school programs that allow students to obtain college credit, industry credentials, or work experience. Those programs have become a complex system, confusing and hard to navigate, both for students and districts. Having taught in secondary education in the state for almost a decade, I was shocked by how much I didn’t know about these programs and systems. I was pushed to reflect on each of my previous schools and critically consider what preparation for life after high school we had actually embedded into our coursework. I wrestled with the implications these policies had on my own perceptions of my practice.
Going into this work, I had my biases. I expected to read about a handful of careers and hear from students who largely pursued the same path. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Every single student I spoke with had chosen a different field, despite the similarities across their high school experiences. I spoke with a future EMS provider, two future nurses, a future water lawyer, a future family financial planner, a future aerospace engineer, a future realtor, and a future politician. Across the state, they were all excited to share the ways in which high school had given them confidence in pursuing their careers, and grateful for all the support they received. On district websites, however, I often found a lack of information regarding their offerings for students. I found myself thinking, “I know you’re doing good work, where is it?”
We lack a common language. How can we effectively coordinate and communicate our efforts if we don’t have a way to talk about it? Whether it’s CTE, Concurrent Enrollment, ASCENT, PTECH, or any of the other thirteen opportunities Colorado’s students have – it’s something formative and concrete.
Across the many programs, communities, and schools, there is little consistency other than the outcome – and that’s really the thing we need to focus on anyway. Kids are graduating high school with credentials their peers won’t have until years into additional programs, internships, or finishing their undergraduate degree. They have choices, plural, and they know how to leverage the experiences they’ve had to make their next right step. The choice isn’t simply to go to college to pursue a degree and come to terms with the debt it requires – if they’re choosing college, they have credits and credentials to mitigate that debt and the certainty that this path truly is what they want.
Most Colorado schools should have this, because as a person who took these classes, it definitely introduces students to different types of careers – there’s not only a doctor and a nurse in the health profession, there are a bunch of other careers. It definitely helps young students keep their options open.
Lillian, Westminster HS ‘23 (biomedical pathway)
From the metro area to deep in the Rocky Mountains, schools are leading by example, providing not just programs and pathways, but experienced and passionate educators who are deeply invested in helping students know who they are and what they want to do in their professional lives. So many schools are well on their way, working to provide opportunities despite the lack of resources, funding, and support.
I have prior experience that others don’t have; because of doing the program at Westminster, I was able to get a lot of prior experience and knowledge… [Drone-specific knowledge] isn’t something I see a lot, even with my peers in college. Some of them know things because of their degree path, but they don’t know how to incorporate that into the actual work.
Xavier, Westminster HS ‘23 (Aviation)
If a student takes an internship class and realizes what field they want to pursue through that, they can enroll in the courses that earn them credit in high school, as Tyler did. In our conversation, she highlighted the influence her internship through Colorado Mountain College (CMC) had on her high school course enrollment. Because of her experiences in both a Fire and Emergency Medical Service internship, she knew she wanted to pursue EMS training. That knowledge empowered her to intentionally enroll in the science classes that built a foundation for her post-secondary training.
I was considering a Business degree, and now I know that would not have satisfied me in any way…getting to try something out before you go to college for it is really great, you don’t waste money on a degree you don’t want to use.
Tyler, Salida HS ‘24 (EMS)
This dream shouldn’t be far-fetched: that all of our kids have the same choice we did when so many of us moved here. Rather than having to leave their hometowns because their credentials don’t match the career landscape, or their income won’t allow them to have a sustainable lifestyle, imagine this: our graduates are equipped and empowered to choose a life where they thrive, professionally and personally. They can choose to return to their communities and enrich them, or make a home for themselves elsewhere in the state that fits them, rather than feeling forced to leave.
As David Martinez at Ednium so eloquently put it – “the priority is preparedness to acquire a dignified job, enabling them to live, work, and play in the city they grew up in.” How can we possibly work towards any other future?
Here, there is clarity of vision: to not just bridge the gap between K-12 Education and the workforce in Colorado but to send students out of high school with individualized foundations, momentum, and confidence in their career choices. It’s not only about ensuring that every student graduates with credentials they can use immediately, and in the future, it’s also about giving them meaningful experiences through which they learn who they are, what opportunities exist across the workforce, and giving them the chance to figure out what fits before they are weighed down by debt or in a career that doesn’t fulfill them.
It was clear to me that it wasn’t about what program students participated in – it was about the experience they had. We should do away with the different program names when ultimately, it doesn’t matter what we call it, we just need to call it something so that we can talk about and celebrate what exists, and expand it to support all of our students statewide.
Elizabeth Shalda was the Summer 2024 Urban Leaders Fellow for Colorado Succeeds. Originally from Michigan, she has served the Denver Metro Area as an educator for nine years. Informed by her Master’s in Education Policy & Practice, she’s passionate about work that reimagines the system to meet the needs of students within and beyond her classroom.