Pasadena Unified Receives $3 Million Grant from the California Career Pathways Trust to Support Six College and Career Pathways

The Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) is the recipient of a grant for $3,046,545 over the next two years from the California Career Pathways trust in support of six College and Career pathways at every district high school. PUSD’s grant is one of 40 totaling $244 million announced today by the California Department of Education (See CDE release below).

PUSD, Pasadena Chamber of Commerce, Pasadena City College (PCC), Foothill Workforce Investment Board (FWIB), Pasadena Educational Foundation (PEF), and the city of Pasadena have formalized a partnership to prepare students for college and careers, successfully transition to postsecondary education, and effectively link them to careers in high wage, high need industries. This local consortium, LINC (Linking Industry for NextGen Careers) Pasadena, builds capacity and coherently links existing local and regional structures to sustain PUSD and PCC pathways to careers by establishing a strong local intermediary structure. It also strengthens and expands K-12 Pathways not currently linked to regional consortia and helps recruit and retain students. The goal is to ensure all students have the skills, attributes and experiences that will prepare them for college, careers and life.

LINC Pasadena builds upon the statewide support structure PUSD has been a part of since its selection in 2009 as one of nine Linked Learning Districts in California. The secondary program has grown to serve 1871 students in grades 9-12 within ten Pathways at all six high schools, including two alternative education sites. Four of the ten PUSD Pathways are part of two large regional California Career Pathways Trust consortia grants focusing on information and communication technology led by PCC and advanced manufacturing led by Long Beach Community College. This grant expands the six innovative career pathway programs focused on the health care industry, legal careers, business and entrepreneurship, culinary arts and hospitality, and other creative industries supporting the community’s workforce development needs that do not yet benefit from the systematic linkage to regional and local industry resources.

For more information, visit www.pusd.us/pages/PasadenaUSD.