Career-connected learning is an educational strategy that combines high-quality academic instruction, skill-based learning, and real-world experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and skills that they need to pursue their career goals. Career-connected learning is especially important for an often-overlooked group of students including…

Exploring principals' experiences with early career mentorship is relevant to the overall success of schools. However, scholars explain there is more to understand about mentorship for school leaders. Guided by Kram's (1983) Theory of Mentoring, this qualitative descriptive phenomenological study explored how principals with recent mentorship…

This article shares innovative practices from a workshop series called Teach and Thrive Learning Circles (TTLCs) offered to pre-service and recent graduates from the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at Colorado College (CC). TTLCs aim to proactively prime pre-service and early career teachers to navigate the pressures that can contribute…

The objective of this study was to better understand what aspects of place and curriculum influence experiences for underserved youth in an environmental education program. For instance, how can environmental education managers create program experiences that maintain depth and focus, while honoring the unique ways students connect and find…

Colorado is a state primed for blurring the lines between secondary, postsecondary, and workforce policies and programs to serve Colorado's young people better. The state has a growing economy, political leadership committed to advancing innovative, affordable education pathways, and a commitment from state agencies and state-based advocates that…

Colorado's Community College System's Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training (TAACCCT) grant facilitated and supported the state's redesign of developmental education (DE) to increase rates of student retention and completion across fifteen community colleges. This chapter presents observations about the process of…

Researchers suggest that the economy of the future will consist of jobs that do not currently exist, there will likely be a shortage of individuals with necessary education and credentials to fill those jobs, and if the nation does not produce this workforce, there will likely be a $1.72 trillion loss in productivity by 2030. Considering these…

University-led K-12 outreach programs are designed to expose students to a variety of fields and career choices, but the benefits and outcomes of these have not been well documented. Existing programs often range from short presentations to more extensive residential summer programs. Nationally, there are only a few university-led high school…

In the last decade, Colorado has increased its efforts and requirements around postsecondary and workforce readiness through the implementation of Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP) in high schools (CDE, 2009; CDE, 2014; CDE, 2020). Although based on career development research, no studies have inquired as to the meaning students make…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether past and present female superintendents in Colorado felt their career paths were gendered. In addition, what strategies they used to navigate their experiences were examined. A qualitative multi-case study design was used to structure this study. A social constructionism philosophy as described by…

States and local education systems hold the primary responsibility for delivering public education in the United States. During the past several years, the quality of the American education system has become national policy priority, replete with school reform efforts designed to hold all students to high standards, increase student achievement,…

Federal, state, and local initiatives have encouraged education and training providers to build stackable credentials, a series of postsecondary credentials that can be earned over time and that build on each other to prepare individuals for different needs for knowledge and skills throughout a career. By offering flexible pathways that allow…

Scientific thinking and understanding are essential for all people navigating the world, not just for scientists and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals. Knowledge of science and the practice of scientific thinking are essential components of a fully functioning democracy. Science is also crucial for the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of master of music education degree program directors and alumni from selected schools regarding the ways in which their music education master's programs balance the varied needs of program participants. Findings are presented in the two broad categories of improvement in P-12 teacher…

The nation has made an unprecedented investment in community colleges to simultaneously increase college completion and stimulate economic recovery. One of the most substantial investments was the Trade Adjustment Act Community College and Career Training (TAACCCT) program of the United States Department of Labor (U.S.DOL). Beginning October 2011,…