Schools That Can programs build an education to employment pathway serving high school and middle school students with a focus on career readiness.
Schools That Can's Work
Career Readiness Curriculum
Our Career Readiness Curriculum consists of 6 experiential, student-centered units to prepare young people for post-secondary success. These units represent 125 hours of award-winning exemplary curriculum designed to prepare 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade students for the world of work.
Work-Based Learning Experiences
Throughout Schools That Can programs, students embark on work-based learning experiences across diverse career pathways that prepare them for post-secondary success. In a 2020 study, the Carnegie Foundation surveyed a significant sample of parents and reported that close to 50% of parents do not believe their children are prepared for college or the work-place upon high school graduation. STC addresses this gap with work-based experiences that include:
Virtual or in-person mentorships in every unit
Mock Interviews with Employers
STC believes students have big ideas on how to solve challenges in their communities. Through Design Challenge, which can be hosted as a one-day or multi-week event, teams of middle schoolers engage in design thinking challenges to address a problem in their community, with local businesses and nonprofits serving as the “client” for the challenge and mentoring teams.
STC Study Groups
STC facilitates 3 current study groups discussing timely issues impacting K-12 public education. Learn more…. STC’s Study Groups bring together outstanding leaders in small cohorts to share ideas and explore problem-solving solutions to intransient challenges in K-12 public education. STC provides a platform for diverse leader discourse and a methodology to sustain engagement among very busy participants. Currently, study groups include the following:
School Leaders – 8 school leaders from different cities who have won our prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Urban Education School Leader Awards and represent cross-sector diversity of district, charter, faith-based and independent middle and high school leadership share ideas and practices dealing with timely challenges.
University Provosts from 4 diverse universities (private, state, city and national virtual) share ideas and practices around the theme of “The value of Universities.” This group was formed to explore the growth of students and parents in recent years expressing concern over the value of college as a post-secondary option.
Thought Leaders including four university presidents and four highly respected education and community leaders share ideas and thoughts concerning the current status of public education in America.
STC Ed Chats
Ed Chats provide an invaluable platform for sharing ideas and thoughts among diverse leaders. Learn more…. STC has enjoyed a long history of facilitating STC Forums where school leaders across sectors and grade levels would come together in-person and since the pandemic, virtually, to learn and share. From 2005 until 2020 STC facilitated 15 years of annual Forums in different cities that were in-person learning opportunities for school leaders to go beyond their four walls to share practices and seek challenge solutions. The average attendance would reach 300-400 by 2010. Keynote speakers over the years included Secretary John King, Senator Cory Booker, Professor Angela Duckworth, Professor Clayton Christensen, Chancellor Nancy Cantor, Professor Illah Nourbaksh and many others including prominent school leaders. Aligned to this tradition of cross-sector collaboration and sharing, in 2020 STC started its STC Ed Chat Series which was essentially virtual experiences that represented the best of our Forum experiences. Ed Chats have included such stimulating conversations as Education in the Age of AI, Education Equity and the COVID-19 Pandemic, How Career Readiness Changes High School Culture, and more.
English Language Learners
There has been a significant growth of English Language Learners (ELL) in schools over the last several years. Many schools have been caught unprepared for this significant change in student needs. STC addresses this timely challenge through our Career Readiness Curriculum that has adapted to these new realities by offering all unit materials in English and Spanish. STC is also piloting a proprietary ELL rubric that provides teacher training in support of teachers developing ELL teaching skills.
Helps strengthen literacy and numeracy skills, supporting the work of schools and educators.
Builds directly into the school day, and can be customized to meet a school’s needs.
Brings trained facilitators directly into classrooms to collaborate with teachers, engage students, and bring STC’s career readiness units to life.
Connecting students with volunteer career mentors is at the heart of STC’s programming. Students work with professionals from organizations including: