The California Career Pathways Trust, administered by the California Department of Education, funds new regional consortia of K–12 educators, community colleges, and employers to establish career pathways designed to lead secondary students to a postsecondary credential or certification aligned with regional workforce needs. CCPT asks all consortia participants to think on a regional scale, rather than in the usual terms of their own organization, district, or community. This consortium-wide perspective, and the collaborative relationships envisioned among districts, postsecondary institutions, and employers, also require a new mindset about career and technical education (CTE) and a new way of operating for all CCPT participants.
CCPT’s work to date shows great promise. Much of the early work revolves around building systems and relationships foundational to the pathway work ahead, to reframing educational opportunities in regional terms, to building supportive infrastructure, and so to the sustainability of the CCPT investment. While the implementation challenges are considerable, consortia participants across the state point to many positive outcomes associated with this new way of thinking and working together.
