Career pathways are everywhere, but jobs aren’t (opens in new tab)

Every school district in America has a career pathways strategy. Very few have a realistic destination. To support our future workforce, states are passing legislation. Philanthropy is writing checks. Districts are rebranding their career and technical education departments with sleek new logos and career “clusters” that sound like startup accelerators. We’re building elaborate on-ramps to a highway that no one has checked for traffic. The students paying the price—particularly those who are ...