LHS CAREER PATHWAYS INITIATIVE & THE EARLY COLLEGE PROGRAM
In the 2017-2018 school year, Lawrence High School (LHS) will finish its transition from its six themed academies to a comprehensive high school comprised of a Lower School (grades 9 and 10) and Upper School (grades 11 and 12). Over the past two years, the LHS redesign has transformed the 9th and 10th grades intro structured learning environments with a focus on instructional rigor and college preparation. With the belief that students should be simultaneously prepared for college and career, the upper school has designed a variety of career-focused pathways for students to engage in career exploration with the opportunity to earn academic credentials toward their post-secondary degrees.
Promising Career Pathways
To inform pathways designed, Jobs for the Future (JFF) analyzed labor market information of the Lawrence metropolitan area to determine which industries were projected to be high-wave, high-demand, and high-growth. Using Boston MSA "real-time" data and other labor market information, JFF identified Boston's three largest industries to be:
1) the health care and social assistance
2) professional, scientific, and technical services
3) government jobs.
The Lawrence region mirrored these industries but with other major industries including
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educational services
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maanufacturing
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transportation and warehousing
To ensure that students have an entry-point into economically viable careers, prioritized industries in which the average wage is enough for an adult supporting one child.
LHS used data from the Asset Map Report to develop the following Pathways
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Arts
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Health & Wellness
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Tools & Tech
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Business
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Public Administration
Within these Pathways, the Early College Program provides college coursework towards an Associate's Degree in the
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Health & Wellness
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Tools & Tech
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Public Administration Pathways
Starting in the fall of 2017, LHS students will have the opportunity to pursue a degree at Northern Essex Community College in
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Health
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Engineering
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Computer & Information Science (CIS)
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Education
Participating students will have access to the Lawrence, Haverhill and Riverwalk campuses, as well as Quarrybrook, an NECC-affiliated 245-acre learning facility that specializes in experiential, outdoor learning.
A Solid Investment
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$2,000,000 investment committed to early college career pathways and high school redesign via Smith Family Foundation;
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Jobs for the Future contracted to support pathways design, Lawrence joins Pathways to Prosperity network;
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Dual enrollment with Northern Essex Community College piloted;
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School redesign planning underway - staffing, partnership development, and pathways implementation;
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LPS launching an early college program in partnership with Northern Essex and Merrimack College