Lehigh County

Career Pathways

Achieving Excellence in Education

Achieving a Countywide Career
Pathways Model using the HSTW
Ten Key Practices and
Organizational Structure.

Lehigh Valley Demographics

Located in Eastern PA
Counties of: Lehigh and Northampton
Proximity to New York and Philadelphia
Population: 580,110 (increasing)
Allentown (105,000)
Bethlehem (72,000)
Easton (34,000)
3rd Largest Service Delivery Area in PA
(324,415 workers)
17 Public School Districts and Diocese of Allentown
3 Area Vocational-Technical Schools
LCTI, BAVTS, CIT
Educational Service Units
Carbon-Lehigh and Colonial Northampton
Lehigh Valley Business-Education Partnership
9 Colleges and Universities

Lehigh County, PA
340 Square miles
Urban, Suburban and Rural
Population: 307,264
Per Capita Personal Income: $27,752
Average Earnings Per Job: $34,780
9 School Districts and Dioceses of Allentown
10 Public High Schools
Allentown: 16,300 Students (2 schools)
Parkland
8,000 Students
East Penn:
7,500 Students
Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit
Educational Service Agency
Lehigh Career & Technical Institute
Approximately 2,200 secondary and 750 adult students
HSTW Site: 1998

School Districts

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Northwestern Lehigh School District

Northern Lehigh School District
Parkland School District
Whitehall-Coplay School District
Catasauqua School District

6. Allentown School District

7. Salisbury Township School
District
8. East Penn School District
9. Southern Lehigh School
District

The Problem

Competing State & Federal Programs

Changes in the Workforce
High School Student Course Focus
Traditional Solution

The Programs

Tech Prep
Youth Apprenticeship
HSTW in PA
School To Work
ACES Credit for credentials
Workforce Investment

1990
1991
1991
1994
1997
1998

Changes in the Workforce

20%
65%

1900

20%
60%

15%

20%

20%

1950

11%

69%

2002
Professional

Skilled

Unskilled

The Problem
Industry concerns for technical workforce
development
80% of high school students preparing
for 20% of jobs
Jobs
H.S. Students

20
80

The Traditional School Solution

In the U.S.
Out of every 100 High school graduates

70 enroll in college
42 return for their sophomore year
34 advance to their senior year
28 graduate in five years
Only 14 find employment in their chosen field
UBEC March, 1998

Graduation rates from 4 year colleges have been

dropping:
In 1982 they were 52.2 %
In 2000 they were 41.9 %
NCES

The Traditional School Solution

Pennsylvania Statistics
Ranked 5th in the nation for sending high school
graduates to college.
Ranked 45th in the nation for actually graduating
those same students from college, and then it
takes most 5 years to be completers.
Large proportion of community college
enrollment is adult students with Graduate
degrees seeking new job skills.

The Solution
Develop a career pathways model:
Follow the HSTW organizational structure
Implement the HSTW 10-key practices
Incorporate the best practices of the competing programs

Provide a career pathway for all students.

Focus on career choices and preparation for post-secondary
education.

Career Pathways Organization

Marketing

Steering
Committee

Professional
Development
& Curriculum
Career Ed.
Information

Assessment
& Evaluation

Career Pathways Stakeholders

School Superintendents
High School Principals
Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit
Lehigh-Carbon Community College
Lehigh Career & Technical Institute
Penn State-Lehigh Valley Campus
Temple University
Lehigh Valley Business Education Partnership
CareerLink & Workforce Development Board
Subcommittee Co-Chairpersons
UBEC-PPL & UGI
Employers
Middle school administrators

Committee Functions
Steering Committee
Develop Vision and Project Master Plan
Secure and Manage Resources
Ensure Goal Achievement

Staff Development/Curriculum & Articulation

Provide Applied Academics Workshops

Conduct Academic-Vocational Integration Workshops
Provide Mentor Training (School and Work-based)
Adopt Instructional Materials
Develop Model Curriculum Scope and Sequence
Develop Horizontal and Vertical Articulation
Plan County-wide in-services
Integrate state standards

Committee Functions
Career Education and Information

Prepare K-12 comprehensive Career Guidance Plan

Develop Student Career Planners
Develop Teacher resource material
Provide Student / Parent Career Information
Develop a Career Education / Information and Marketing
Plan
Secure Linkages to Local Business

Evaluation and Assessment

Survey Stakeholders Annually

Gather & analyze Transcript Analysis Data
Gather Baseline Student Achievement Data
Conduct Graduate Follow-up Survey
Recommend Corrective Actions

Career Pathways
Marketing Committee
Supported by Utilities Business Education Coalition
Three Objectives
All educators knowledgeable in Career Pathways
Parents & students in 9th grade will choose a Career
Pathway
The community at large, especially business people, will
have a thorough understanding of Career Pathways

One year plan

Administrative workshops held
Counselor surveys and workshops planned
Additional teacher resources under development (FAQ
bookmarks and student bookmarks)
Work with local PBS TV station
Provide inserts in LV Chamber of Commerce mailers

Career Pathways Model

K-5
Career
Awareness

6-8
Career
Exploration

Choose a career pathway

from one of the following clusters:
Arts & Humanities
Business and Communications
Engineering/Industrial
Health & Human Services

Career Pathways Model

9-12
Academic and
Technical
Courses
as Prescribed
by a Pathway
Career
Preparation/
Application

4 Year College,
University,
Community
College
2-year Associate
Degree or
Certificate
Program
Business or
Technical School
Apprenticeship or
Internship
Entry into the
Military or the
Workforce

Career
and
Lifelong
Learning

Career Pathways Model

Traditional Academic Grades 9-12

College Prep Sequence

School & Work Site Mentors
Electives Support Career Choices
Work-based Learning Experiences

Technical Academic Grades 9-12

Applied Academic Sequence

School & Work Site Mentors
Emphasis on Technical Major
Emphasis on Work-Based Learning

Career Pathways Examples

Arts / Humanities

Business / Communications

Traditional
Academic

Technical
Academic

Traditional
Academic

Technical
Academic

Architect
Artist
Lawyer
Teacher

Advertising Artist
Computer Aided Designer
Paralegal
Sign Painter

Accountant
Auditor
Programmer
Statistician

Claims Examiner
Material Handler
PC Technician
Telecommunicator

Engineering / Industrial
Traditional
Academic

Technical
Academic

Chemist
Automotive Technician
Computer Engineer
Cost Estimator
Physicist
Machinist
Systems Analyst
Technical Salesperson

Health Sciences / Human Services

Traditional
Academic

Technical
Academic

Biological Scientist
Guidance Counselor
Psychiatrist
Registered Nurse

Correction Officer
Dental Technician
Flight Attendant
Police Officer

Career Pathways Key Concepts

High Expectations

General tracks & low level courses eliminated

All students take algebra no later than 9th grade
NAEP scores were up
All students focus on a career goal
All students prepare for 2 year/4 year college
In-class presentations and homework assignments for C&T
students

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Challenging Program of Study
Academic and technical courses are sequenced to
support career choices
No more Vo-tech math or Vo-tech English
Graduation or Culminating projects for all students
Rigorous applied academic curriculum developed by
Lehigh County Math teachers
Increased graduation requirements

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Real-World Examples
Emphasis on contextual learning and high standards
Integration workshops provide technical applications
for academic subjects
Joint homework assignments between C&T teachers
& academic teachers show relevance
Graduation projects are linked to career majors

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Challenging Career &Technical studies
Emphasis on State & National Skill Standards and
credentials
Contextual learning taking place
Student-centered curriculum model in place
Cooperative assignments between Career &
Technical teachers and academic teachers
Emphasis on high-level math, science, language arts
and problem-solving

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Work-Based & School-Based Learning
Students can learn in their career field
Job shadows
Internships
Cooperative Education
Mentor training provided to school counselors and
administrators
Mentor training provided to business & industry
supervisors and technicians
Teacher in the workplace internships
Shadow days
Middle school

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Integration of Academic & Technical Studies
Integration workshops funded by Tech Prep
Concept and benefits of integration explained
Adopted an integration model
Integrated the math, science, language arts state standards into
the C&T curriculum
Provided world of work examples from four career clusters for
use in academic classroom
Developed joint homework assignments
Developed graduation or culminating projects

County-wide In-service held October 8, 2000 for high school

County-wide In-service to be held October 14, 2002 for middle
school
HSTW annual Professional Development Conference
PDE annual integration conference at PSU

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Work-Based & School-Based Learning
Students can learn in their career field
Job shadows
Internships
Cooperative Education

Mentor training provided to school counselors and

administrators
Mentor training provided to business & industry
supervisors and technicians
Teacher in the workplace internships

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Students actively engaged in learning
Cooperative learning strategies used
Applied academic courses utilized
Oral presentations given
Essay/Written tests
Project based assignments
Academic Showcase for community
Portfolios demonstrate best work of students

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Guidance and Counseling System

A comprehensive Career Preparation K + Model

K-5 teacher resource materials under development
Updated middle school planner in use by all schools
High school teacher/counselor resource guide under
development
Career Pathways Brochure available
Career Pathways video in use
Website developed and in use
www.careerpathway.org

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Guidance and Counseling System
Training sessions for counselors

Career Fair
Parents nights
Summer Fun Camp
Career Pathways 4-year course sequence is completed for
each student

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Assessment & Evaluation

NAEP & PSSA testing

Transcript analysis
Employer surveys
Graduate surveys
Staff surveys
Student surveys
Administrative/counselor surveys
HSTW Technical Assist Visit
NOCTI testing for all C&T completers
National & State Skill Standards assessment
Completion of Site Action Plans
Analysis of PDE School Profiles
Self assessment by Temple University planned

Career Pathways Key Concepts

Extra Help

Senior mentors assigned to help ninth-grade students

Computer based remedial software programs
College education majors tutor students
Business/Industry support for after school remediation
programs
After school, weekends, and summer programs
Remedial reading program pilot program

Role of Business / Industry

Leveraging Resources
Curriculum
Career Fairs
Public Relations
Career Counseling
Mentoring
Work-based Learning

Shadowing
Internship
Co-op Education
Youth Apprenticeship
Explorer Post

Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation

Lehigh Valley Business Education Partnership
Pennsylvania CareerLink
Donations & Tax credits Business & Industry

Career Pathways Timeline

1997
Pilot Study

January 1998
Career Pathways concept adopted

1998 2003

Staff Development
Curriculum Development
Evaluation and Assessment
Marketing

September 2000-2003
Career Pathways in grades 9-12

Lehigh County
Career Pathways