Wayne D’Orio at The Hechinger Report focuses a spotlight on Beloit Memorial High School in Beloit, Wisconsin, which decided to revamp its Public High School back in 2018 with Career and Technical Education (CTE) and work-based learning placed at the forefront of the transformation. The 1,225-student school now has three academies that cover 13 different career paths. After ninth grade, students choose to concentrate in an area, which means taking several courses in a specific field. Students also have the option to do work-based learning, which can mean internships, a youth Apprenticeship or working at high-end simulated job sites inside the school. “This creates not just a pipeline to jobs but also to career choices,” said Jeff Stenroos, the District’s Director of CTE and Alternative Education. Beloit’s effort is a shift in high school emphasis similar to the extensive CTE Programs being run in other places, notably Indiana, Kentucky and Alabama. In 2024, 40 States enacted 152 CTE-related policies, the biggest push in five years, according to Advance CTE, a non-profit group that represents State CTE Officials. Nationwide, about 20% of high school students take a concentration of CTE courses, it says, adding the high school graduation rate for students who concentrate in CTE is 90% - 15 percentage points higher than the national average. Three years ago, Wisconsin called for 7% of its high school students to be in Workplace Learning Programs by 2026. Beloit’s progress puts it far ahead of that target. In Beloit Memorial, nearly one and three students meet this designation today, Stenroos said. The high school features a cavernous construction area where students build full-scale rooms, learn masonry and complete plumbing and electrical wiring projects. The metal shop offers 16 welding stations and a die-cutter machine that allows students to create customized pieces to fit projects. Down the street, the school runs an eight-bay car repair center, a space it took over when a Sears Autobody Shop left town. These spaces are “better than a lot of technical colleges,” Stenroos noted. In addition to their high school courses, Beloit Memorial students pile up industry-recognized certifications, Stenroos said. More than 40% of its students graduate with at least one certification, and one in four secure multiple certifications. 

To Directly Access This Apprenticeship And Training Labor News Story, Go To: This school built high-end training sites on campus to prepare students for local skilled jobs