College/Career Pathways at Nome-Beltz

Nome-Beltz College/Career Pathway Program – Part 1

College/Career Pathways are courses of study taken by high school students leading to either college programs or immediate entry into careers. The goal of college/career pathways is to help students explore college and/or careers that follow completion of their high school education. Pathways can be established for students as early as the middle grades. More often, students enter a college/career pathway their freshman year of high school.

A number of factors have combined leading to an increased interest in college/career pathways at Nome-Beltz. Factors include, but are not limited to:

- The need for a wider variety of classes identified during the development of the NPS Strategic Plan in the Fall of 2010.

- The 2010-2011 NPS District Report Card reflecting a graduation rate of 62%.

- Many sources informing that relevance in education is an important factor encouraging students to complete school and move into either college or careers.

The development of college/career pathways leading to either college study or careers in the local region are practical methods of addressing these and other similar factors.

With information in-hand, the school has opened discussions with local organizations to explore how initial steps could be taken to increase the number of pathways available to students attending Nome-Beltz. Northwest Campus facilitates a wealth of pathway type courses. It was decided that an exploration of student interests in a small group of these courses would be a reasonable first-step in expanding the programs offered at Nome-Beltz. There is much work to be completed to have fully defined college/career pathways at Nome-Beltz. Gathering student interests in possible pathways is simply the first step.