Yough High School Principal Brian Sutherland said the evidence-based pathways are “the ones that excite me the most,” and the ones that could jumpstart more partnerships.
For example, Yough was able to expand on volunteer work some of its students were doing with the West Newton Presbyterian Church Food Pantry to create full-blown service-learning experiences. It also has contracted with SP/2, a provider of online training, to enable students to earn industry-recognized credentials, such as certifications on creating customer-centered cultures.
Even some administrators who find the new law beneficial, however, say Act 158 also poses challenges of identifying partnerships and managing them.
“I think there will be some energy behind this,” said Cumberland Valley School District’s Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education, Mark Blanchard. He added, however, that in his large district, with a graduating class of roughly 800 students, it will be labor-intensive even if as few as 10 percent pursue alternative pathways.
Even before Act 158, when Cumberland Valley has tried to line up business partners to give students real-world or work-based learning experiences, Blanchard has found many companies don’t want to engage more than 10 students at once.
“Even if we're talking about 70 to 80 students, if you're doing it eight to 10 kids at a time, it becomes someone's full time job,” he said.
To lighten its own load a little, Cumberland Valley is working with South Central PA Works, a regional workforce development agency, and Emerge Education, which facilitates recruitment for post-secondary schools and training programs, to organize meetings with prospective partners and establish protocols.
Cumberland Valley‘s partnership search focuses on its region’s largest industries-- computer science, health care, and warehousing and logistics. Like his, Blanchard said many districts likely will need help from intermediaries, and even with help, it’s a heavy lift.
“It involves a lot of time, effort and energy to actualize these things,” he added, noting that prospective partners “have to be really invested in supporting what you’re trying to do.”