In an effort to make York a more well-rounded and comprehensive school, Principal Erin DeLuga has begun the process of implementing several different “pathways”–ie, different course plans that focus on preparing students for certain careers.

“Pathways in a high school are ways in which a student can reach a capstone course in his / her area of interest,” said DeLuga. “For example, creating a manufacturing course sequence to align with engineering can give students hands-on experienced, industry certifications, internship experiences while in high school to better prepare them for the work world, two or four year college, etc..  Other pathways include, but are not limited to, business/finance, medical careers, culinary arts, entrepreneurship, medical careers, broadcast journalism, education etc”

Although York is already a fairly comprehensive school when it comes to career planning, DeLuga was inspired to add even more programs by her old position as Assistant Principal at Wheeling High School in District 214.

“Wheeling was a STEM-focused school that embraced pathways as a way of structuring the high school experience academically,” said DeLuga. “It truly meets each student where they are and helps them identify career interests before leaving high school.  I also serve on the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools and York High School is an associate member of the organization.  This organization supports pathways and has proven inspirational to my work.”

The curriculums of these courses will be implemented through things like mentoring programs and internships; there won’t be any budget cuts as a result, but there will be a need for some outside funding and space for more facilities, like an Incubator Lab for business students and a manufacturing course sequence for aspiring engineers.

“Anything we can provide that has a direct focus on actual career-minded goals would be great for students,” said Adam Brown, a Physics teacher here at York. “At the same time, I still think it’s important for students to have a solid foundation in fundamentals.  Even students who major in engineering, are required to take a Physics course when they’re in school.”

Although York thus far has put a lot of emphasis on those foundational type classes–like general math, science and English–it has also been offering several different pathway-type courses over the years.

“Everything from Mr. Robak’s Automotive Diagnostic class to Mr. Stolz’s Production Printing class to my Restaurant Management class that I teach, we have so many different career clusters that are covered across those three areas, and some of the other departments in the school also have career-related programs,” said Wendy Albert, the Career Tech Ed Division Chair. “In this department, we have our Invite to Teach program, in the science department we have Med Careers, in English we have broadcasting. So a lot of different opportunities throughout the building to get exposed to these different careers and to really start building some skills that are gonna help the students when they get out there into the workforce.”

Even though all of these different pathway courses are already being offered, the point of this new program is to expand these pathways and add several more.

“Some of the things we have been thinking about is adding a manufacturing sequence out of our Industrial Tech Department, which would be something that builds off of our engineering and tech drafting classes and would be something that allows students to not just design something, but actually then manufacturer or machine it,” said Alberts. “[It would allow students to] actually have a physical part, or a physical object, that they had actually taken from the design process all the way through the creation process.”

Students who are looking to enter the manufacturing and industrial business when they finish high school definitely look forward to having more options when it comes to choosing courses that are relevant to their chosen careers.

“Introducing these courses would be great especially where the country is right now. We need more blue collar men and women in the workforce,” said CJ Cote, a sophomore in the auto shop classes. “Having these courses could really get people interested in how cars, houses, and skyscrapers are made. And how to make them easier, safer, and cheaper for the people building, repairing, and keeping maintenance.”

With all of these new courses and programs being created and implemented, York students are becoming better prepared for whatever the future holds for them, and will excel in whatever that future may be.