The educational world is ever-evolving and constantly implementing new ideas and systems in order to give students the best education possible.
In 2013, California’s Linked Learning pilot program was the beginning of a massive shift to include career technical education and pathway academies at high schools to help prepare students for career and college.
But at Harmony Magnet Academy, a small high school in rural Tulare County, career and college readiness has been the name of the game for a decade.
The Strathmore school offers two pathway programs for students enrolled in Porterville Unified School District — engineering and performing arts. Through these pathways, the school links traditional high school academic requirements with a work-based component.
“All of our kids are going to go into some type of post-secondary education,” said Principal Jeff Brown. “They will all be college and career ready. Work-based learning is a big part of what we do here.”
Students apply for either academy during their eighth-grade year. No student has ever been turned away, Brown said.
The 530 students enrolled at the high school all participate in several career readiness activities like mentor conferences, mock interviews and internships. If it fits in their schedules, students can also elect to participate in career readiness events, job shadowing and field trips.
“It’s really the climate in which we live,” Brown said. “How do we compete for jobs without 21st-Century skills?”
Those skills have helped not only improve students academic performance but the school’s culture as well, Brown added.
In 2015-16, 91 percent of the school’s junior class met or exceeded the state’s English Language Arts standards. That same year, 84 percent of sophomores scored proficient or advanced in the CAASPP science exam.
The school has a 98 percent attendance rate. Last year, administrators only handed out 13 suspensions.
“It truly is harmony,” Brown said.
A chain reaction
The principal hopes all high schools will soon offer students college and career readiness programs, he said.
“What we’re doing here is modeling what it should look like,” Brown added. “We’re teaching through a career lens.”
The high school served as the example for local districts such as Visalia Unified School District and Tulare Joint Union High School District. Both districts have incorporated career and college academies into their high school curriculum.
Administrators and students agree the hands-on learning provided through the pathways sets students up for success.
“I really love the program that we have [at Harmony Magnet Academy] because you really get engaged and have this hands-on learning that I don’t think you could get anywhere else,” said Samuel Wilkinson, Harmony Magnet Academy senior. “It’s a small school, but we’re just one big family.”
Harmony on a national scale
In September, Harmony Magnet Academy was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The program recognizes public and private elementary, middle, and high schools based on their overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
The high school was one of 352 schools to receive the award.
“National Blue Ribbon Schools are active demonstrations of preparing every child for a bright future,” said Betsy DeVos, U.S. secretary of education. “You are visionaries, innovators and leaders. You have much to teach us: some of you personalize student learning, others engage parents and communities in the work and life of your local schools and still others develop strong and forward-thinking leaders from among your teaching staff.”
Harmony Magnet Academy is one of 23 California schools and the only Tulare County school to receive the award.
In its 35-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has presented this award to more than 8,500 schools.
“Congratulations to all the schools on this list and to the educators, parents, students, and communities for helping students believe in themselves, set high goals, and realize their potential,” said Tom Torlakson, California state superintendent. “You are shining examples of the terrific things happening in California public education, and we must keep our momentum going because the California Way is to move forward and upward.”
The high school also received the NAF 2016 Stanford I. Weill Academy of Excellence Award and the 2015 California Department of Education Gold Ribbon School Award.
Both the engineering and performing arts academies are also certified Linked Learning pathways.
While maintaining the program can at times be difficult, the recognition is proof it’s working.
“The challenge is to sustain it and make it better,” Brown said. “My job is to better the system and change the way students learn.”