By: Caroline Sapp
When I was 9 years old, I asked my aunt which college my cousin planned to go to after graduating high school. She responded that he would not be going to college, but would instead go directly into the workforce. This answer was both surprising and confusing to my young mind, which had been taught that college was the only post-secondary option worth considering. The current goal of the American public school system is to produce as many college bound graduates as possible. As sincere as the intentions for working toward this goal may be, it unfortunately leaves students unaware of any other post-graduation options.
Before this “college-for-all” mindset became prominent, public high schools used tracking programs to provide different levels of difficulty for students, which ranged from above average to below average. The above average students were taught college preparatory courses while the below average students were instructed in vocational subjects. Unfortunately, given the time period in which these programs were implemented, the tracks were often racially based. Instead of aiding in the success of individual students, these programs served as a hindrance to higher education for the minority students who were mostly placed in the average and below average tracks.
When this trend was identified by sociologists in the early 1990s, school systems began to abolish their tracking policies. Since then, the state of Georgia has taken steps to continue to offer vocational tracks for students who want to pursue them. Unfortunately, the stigma against vocational education that stemmed from the previously racially oppressive programs have made these newly offered tracks undesirable to both parents and students.
One such program involves separate schools that provide students instruction in both vocational and college preparatory subjects. Despite the post-graduate success of alumnae of these vocational schools, these schools are still not very popular among students in the districts in which they exist.
Another unsuccessful attempt at a vocational education policy was the introduction of the Dual Seal Diploma for students graduating between 2008 and 2011. With this program, high school freshmen could choose between a College Preparatory Diploma or a Technical/Career Preparatory Diploma, for which students would take vocational courses in the place of some math and foreign language courses required for the College Preparatory Diploma. This program also gave students the option of choosing both tracks, for which they would receive a Dual Seal Diploma upon completion. Because of its lack of success, this program ended in 2011.
Some individual schools and districts have implemented internship or apprenticeship programs that allow students to gain experience in the workforce. These types of programs have been successful because the students, who choose where they like to work, are invested in them.
At the state level, no vocational education policy has been successful, which is why there are critics of the vocational education policy new to Georgia high schools this year. What is different about this program, called Career Pathways, is the number of options from which students may choose. Some of the 17 options, called “clusters,” include Information Technology, Manufacturing, and Health Services. Students choose their clusters in the 9th grade and take cluster-specific courses throughout their high school careers. Students are allowed to change to a different cluster if their interests and goals change.
The program seems to have taken into account the problems of previous vocational education programs. It seems as if Career Pathways may be the answer to truly promoting success for all students by tailoring to their individual needs. There is, however, one obstacle in the way of the success of this program: the lack of money given by the state to individual districts to fund the program. Without adequate funding, it is likely that this program will be neglected at the district and school levels. Such a possibility has already been suggested by the Georgia Board of Education. Spokesman Matt Cardoza said that not every school will be able to offer all 17 clusters, but that the cluster’s offered in specific school districts should reflect local commerce. “For instance,” he says, “Savannah [a major transportation logistics hub for Georgia] will have career pathways built around that particular cluster.”