The number of students within Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) gaining crucial skills and knowledge for future career paths has grown exponentially, according to an update given to the SMMUSD Board of Education on April 18.
During the board meeting, SMMUSD Coordinator of Learning and Innovation Dr. Devon Smith gave a presentation on the district’s project-based learning initiative and the latest news on Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways on school sites like Samohi. The CTE implementation, a priority for the district during the 2023-24 school year, has led to a bevy of students taking in the experiential focus at the high school level. After 10 SMMUSD graduates completed a CTE program in 2022-23, that number has risen steadily to 64 expected CTE graduates this year.
The district’s vision for high school CTE pathways, which includes college credit and leadership opportunities, industry certifications and work-based learning in a host of industries, has students gaining key experience in a plethora of topics. Of the 64 expected to graduate with CTE completion in 2023-24, 27 chose the photography pathway, 10 students chose the graphic design and computer science tracks, while others selected career pathways in journalism, television, film and automotives.
Overall completion numbers show a similarly rapid growth, as 34 students completed CTE programs in 2022-23, with 111 expected to complete programs by the end of this school year. For 2024-25, the district expects 173 graduating students to have finished a CTE program, and 273 to complete a program in total.
Smith noted that the CTE program is vast in the types of career opportunities given, including associations with Santa Monica College and the local business community for "expansion" in post-secondary situations, like dual enrollment and internships.
"[The program] allows [students] to get a taste of the working world now, get a taste of college now, and then once you get that college class under your belt … nobody can tell you that you can’t do college," Smith said.
The board concurred with that assessment, with SMMUSD Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton stating that it is important for students to be multi-talented and have a multitude of options, while board members highlighted the importance of skill-based training during the school year.
"Nowadays, everywhere you go, people are looking to hire somebody that has skills already, and if you don’t have skills, that’s not going to get you in the door, no matter if you have a Masters, they want to see what you can do," board member Maria Leon-Vasquez said.
The next major breakthrough on the Samohi front will be the continued launch of "integrated academies," featuring a CTE or non-CTE course integrated with an academic subject. Examples include the newly-launched health and wellness pathway, which will integrate CTE learning into 12th grade physiology classes next fall, as well as the current engineering career pathway that partners with several 12th grade courses.
Courtesy photo
SMMUSD’s success with CTE starts with project-based learning on the elementary level, part of the district’s "general exposure" approach that makes students accustomed to CTE alignment with regular coursework. One of the district’s shining examples of this PBL work on the elementary level comes at Grant Elementary School, with Grant Principal Christian Fuhrer alongside several teachers and students at the meeting.
Project-based learning, in which students actively engage in real-world and personally meaningful projects, was an initiative restarted by Grant in 2023 after having to pause during the COVID-19 pandemic. This school year, Grant has been dedicated to ensuring that the teaching practices of PBL "become a major component" of the school’s instructional model, crafting units for each grade level that have students asking "driving questions" and then researching topics further.
For example, a PBL unit for Grant’s third-grade students focused on "natural hazards" and how communities can be safe and prepared for such disasters. Breaking down this real-world scenario into smaller questions, students eventually crafted solutions shown off at a "design solutions fair," something both teachers and students found joy in.
"I have been very fortunate … to have our school come together to do this work … to have this work examined and really pushed is why I’m still here," Grant third-grade teacher Virginia Ripley said.
Other units included a second-grade project on "heroes in the community" and how to make a difference in the world, with the students receiving visits from Dr. Shelton and Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock as part of the experience. Fourth-grade students undertook a unit on "tiny houses," focusing on home design that meets certain needs.
The transition to PBL units, Dr. Smith said, has been a "productive struggle" for teachers working through the discomfort of something they aren’t traditionally trained in, and switching their role during the units into being a "facilitator of learning" rather than being the be-all, end-all source of knowledge.
"We as educators have to get away from the idea that we’re the purveyors of all knowledge," Smith said. "I know we don’t want to act that way, but we kind of feel that pressure sometimes. But we don’t have to if we bring experts into the room, and so it moves you off the stage as the central provider of knowledge to being a co-learner and a guide to the students."
