Pathways to Opportunity: A Conversation about High School-Based Pathways in Boston
November 14, 2024
The Boston Foundation’s second Pathways to Opportunity convening, in partnership with EdVestors, took place on Thursday, November 14. Orlando Watkins, Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Boston Foundation, opened the event by emphasizing the value of collaborative spaces, where partners with a shared vision of equity can come together. Watkins recognized the nonprofit leaders and higher education employers in the room, all aiming to create equitable models for early college and career pathways.
“We believe that a high quality, accessible and equitable system of college and career pathways for students in Boston ensures that they will have the opportunity to achieve their true potential and launch sustaining careers,” Watkins said.
Marinell Rousmaniere, President & CEO of EdVestors, introduced the panelists: Annie Duong-Turner, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at American Student Assistance; Alexis Lian, Director of Policy at the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy; Ted Lombardi, Secondary Superintendent for College, Career, and Life Readiness at Boston Public Schools; Amanda Seider, Executive Director of OneGoal Massachusetts; and Loretta Minor, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment at Roxbury Community College.
Rousmaniere posed two critical questions to the panel: What opportunities should be pursued, and what challenges need to be addressed to further advance models like Early College and Innovation Career Pathways?
Ted Lombardi noted that the first challenge is getting students to participate in the pathways and growing the population that has access to them. Part of that means making the pathways accessible for all learners, particularly multilingual students.
The true purpose of this work, Lombardi stated, is to allow the students to “feel like college students while they’re in high school, feel like they’re connected to an industry professional career while they’re in high school and have supports that just did not exist in what most of us think of as a traditional high school experience.”
“We believe that a high quality, accessible and equitable system of college and career pathways for students in Boston ensures that they will have the opportunity to achieve their true potential and launch sustaining careers,” Watkins said.
Marinell Rousmaniere, President & CEO of EdVestors, introduced the panelists: Annie Duong-Turner, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at American Student Assistance; Alexis Lian, Director of Policy at the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy; Ted Lombardi, Secondary Superintendent for College, Career, and Life Readiness at Boston Public Schools; Amanda Seider, Executive Director of OneGoal Massachusetts; and Loretta Minor, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment at Roxbury Community College.
Rousmaniere posed two critical questions to the panel: What opportunities should be pursued, and what challenges need to be addressed to further advance models like Early College and Innovation Career Pathways?
Ted Lombardi noted that the first challenge is getting students to participate in the pathways and growing the population that has access to them. Part of that means making the pathways accessible for all learners, particularly multilingual students.
The true purpose of this work, Lombardi stated, is to allow the students to “feel like college students while they’re in high school, feel like they’re connected to an industry professional career while they’re in high school and have supports that just did not exist in what most of us think of as a traditional high school experience.”
Agenda
Welcome
Orlando Watkins,Vice President and Chief Program Officer, The Boston Foundation
Panel Discussion and Audience Q&A
Annie Duong-Turner, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, American Student Assistance
Alexis Lian, Director of Policy, Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy
Ted Lombardi, Secondary Superintendent for College, Career, and Life Readiness, Boston Public Schools
Amanda Seider, Executive Director, Massachusetts, OneGoal
Loretta Minor, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment, Roxbury Community College
Marinell Rousmaniere, President & CEO, EdVestors (Moderator)
Closing Remarks
Antoniya Marinova, Associate Vice President, Programs, The Boston Foundation
In his opinion, the ultimate goal of high-quality pathways is to help students transition smoothly into postsecondary education or careers, and to offer students options with multiple outcomes. Lombardi added that they don’t want to simply land students in the first job they find, but in the job that is the best fit.
Amanda Seider explained the complexity of transforming high schools to include Early College pathways. “This does not happen overnight. This requires dramatic changes to staffing, it requires changes to the schedule, to expectations about what can and should happen during high school and why. It requires shifts in mindsets and communication with students and families about why we’re doing this.”
Seider stated that the advising process is critical to helping students navigate these pathways, as they need help envisioning their postsecondary goals and need resources to succeed in their chosen paths. The schools themselves require leadership coaching to guide them through these changes.
“To do this work takes a lot of time, energy, and resources, so we must make sure that this work is well supported,” she said.
Loretta Minor highlighted the ways that Roxbury Community College intentionally serves multilingual learners, particularly those in the early stages of English language acquisition. The Early College Consortium, a program co-developed by the college with Boston Public Schools, aims to eliminate language as a barrier to accessing Early College opportunities. To achieve this, RCC developed courses that combine college credit with high school ESL requirements.
“It takes a lot of human resources,” Minor said. “We are heavily reliant on partnerships to run this model.”
Not only does the program require partnerships between schools, but partnerships with other organizations and with the students’ families. “We have interpreters who are present,” Minor said. “Just because students have access to language doesn’t necessarily mean their parents do. So, in order to bring everybody into the fold, we have to employ a lot of different agencies and people.”
Annie Duong-Turner noted the role of community organizations in addressing gaps in these programs. She spoke about the potential gains of offering internships and apprenticeships year-round. “How do we ensure employers have ways to plug into the school system and nonprofit organizations not just during the summer, but throughout the year, to offer other opportunities beyond just internships?” Duong-Turner asked.
She shared an example of a successful program, Washington State’s Career Connect program, which offers pathways to credentials or college credits through collaboration between high schools, community colleges, and apprenticeship programs. This model is an example of how partnerships within structured systems can lead to success.
Duong-Turner also believes in offering these pathways earlier to help students explore their strengths and interests to better inform their educational and career paths. “Perhaps going as early as middle school to ask students to begin thinking about what they’re really good at, what they love doing, and giving them exposure to different career options early on.”
Alexis Lian emphasized the importance of consistent definitions for work-based learning. She categorized experiences into three levels: Awareness, such as job fairs and career speakers, Exploration, such as job shadowing and labor market research, and Immersion, such as internships and capstone projects.
“I think the biggest challenge that we were seeing in the research is how we are defining work-based learning for students,” Lian shared.
She highlighted that immersion experiences, such as internships, often vary widely in quality and accessibility. She urged that a standardized approach would help ensure equitable opportunities for all students. Lian made the point that it’s important to recognize the financial challenges many students face, and that compensation for internships or work-based learning experiences is a critical part of equity, stating that paid opportunities help ensure broader participation.
Antoniya Marinova, Associate Vice President of Programs at the Boston Foundation, closed the forum by emphasizing the need for continued reform within high school-based pathways. She stated that building inclusive pathways requires investment in infrastructure, educator support, and partnerships. Programs like Early College and Innovation Career Pathways are essential for fostering equitable access, particularly for marginalized groups. Marinova called for sustained funding to scale these efforts, reminding attendees, “the work of building rigorous, inclusive pathways takes a lot of resources, takes a lot of money.”
Amanda Seider explained the complexity of transforming high schools to include Early College pathways. “This does not happen overnight. This requires dramatic changes to staffing, it requires changes to the schedule, to expectations about what can and should happen during high school and why. It requires shifts in mindsets and communication with students and families about why we’re doing this.”
Seider stated that the advising process is critical to helping students navigate these pathways, as they need help envisioning their postsecondary goals and need resources to succeed in their chosen paths. The schools themselves require leadership coaching to guide them through these changes.
“To do this work takes a lot of time, energy, and resources, so we must make sure that this work is well supported,” she said.
Loretta Minor highlighted the ways that Roxbury Community College intentionally serves multilingual learners, particularly those in the early stages of English language acquisition. The Early College Consortium, a program co-developed by the college with Boston Public Schools, aims to eliminate language as a barrier to accessing Early College opportunities. To achieve this, RCC developed courses that combine college credit with high school ESL requirements.
“It takes a lot of human resources,” Minor said. “We are heavily reliant on partnerships to run this model.”
Not only does the program require partnerships between schools, but partnerships with other organizations and with the students’ families. “We have interpreters who are present,” Minor said. “Just because students have access to language doesn’t necessarily mean their parents do. So, in order to bring everybody into the fold, we have to employ a lot of different agencies and people.”
Annie Duong-Turner noted the role of community organizations in addressing gaps in these programs. She spoke about the potential gains of offering internships and apprenticeships year-round. “How do we ensure employers have ways to plug into the school system and nonprofit organizations not just during the summer, but throughout the year, to offer other opportunities beyond just internships?” Duong-Turner asked.
She shared an example of a successful program, Washington State’s Career Connect program, which offers pathways to credentials or college credits through collaboration between high schools, community colleges, and apprenticeship programs. This model is an example of how partnerships within structured systems can lead to success.
Duong-Turner also believes in offering these pathways earlier to help students explore their strengths and interests to better inform their educational and career paths. “Perhaps going as early as middle school to ask students to begin thinking about what they’re really good at, what they love doing, and giving them exposure to different career options early on.”
Alexis Lian emphasized the importance of consistent definitions for work-based learning. She categorized experiences into three levels: Awareness, such as job fairs and career speakers, Exploration, such as job shadowing and labor market research, and Immersion, such as internships and capstone projects.
“I think the biggest challenge that we were seeing in the research is how we are defining work-based learning for students,” Lian shared.
She highlighted that immersion experiences, such as internships, often vary widely in quality and accessibility. She urged that a standardized approach would help ensure equitable opportunities for all students. Lian made the point that it’s important to recognize the financial challenges many students face, and that compensation for internships or work-based learning experiences is a critical part of equity, stating that paid opportunities help ensure broader participation.
Antoniya Marinova, Associate Vice President of Programs at the Boston Foundation, closed the forum by emphasizing the need for continued reform within high school-based pathways. She stated that building inclusive pathways requires investment in infrastructure, educator support, and partnerships. Programs like Early College and Innovation Career Pathways are essential for fostering equitable access, particularly for marginalized groups. Marinova called for sustained funding to scale these efforts, reminding attendees, “the work of building rigorous, inclusive pathways takes a lot of resources, takes a lot of money.”