DETROIT – Feb. 11, 2019 – Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) and Wayne County Community College District (WCCCD) announced today an expanded innovative partnership that supports the District’s Career Pathway Initiative to create a clear career pathway for students starting their freshman year.

DPSCD has significantly expanded its College Dual Enrollment options, with over 27 courses available for students to earn college credits aligned with seven industry focus areas ranging from health care to advanced manufacturing and education to hospitality. Each high school will have a designated career pathway focusing on specific industries, offering clusters of corresponding college courses.

"This initiative begins the process of reimagining our high schools, so they are more relevant to our students’ lives and a genuine springboard to college and careers," said Nikolai Vitti, Superintendent, DPSCD. “We are proud to extend our partnership with WCCCD and believe this will enhance our reform to increase high school enrollment, attendance, and overall student achievement. Our next step is to engage the Metro Detroit business community to provide our students with internships, job shadowing, and job opportunities in alignment with the Career Academies.”

“The mission of WCCCD has always been to help create pathways to better lives through higher education,” said WCCCD Chancellor Dr. Curtis L. Ivery. “Our expanded dual enrollment partnership with DPSCD goes directly to that mission, introducing high school students to real-world learning opportunities and giving them the tools and knowledge to grow in the 21^st Century economy.”

Under the new design, students can earn six to eight pathway aligned college credits per school year at no costs to the students. Some of the courses offered will lead to certification or industry licensing while students are still in high school. Other programs shorten the credits needed for an associate's degree or a four-year undergraduate degree. In addition, the District has introduced the College Jumpstart suite, a set of general education, post-secondary classes offered by WCCCD that are fully transferable to 30 Michigan colleges. Students can take these courses as early as 9th grade.

High schools will offer the following Career Pathways:

• Business and Entrepreneurship
• Healthcare
• Technology, Media, and Arts
• Law, Education and Public Safety
• Engineering, Manufacturing, and Transportation
• Construction
• Service Industry

Over the last year the District launched the Workforce Partnership Initiative with resources from The Skillman Foundation and United Way for Southeastern Michigan. Their support helped to provide the initial analysis, recommendations and the framework. By 2020 every high school in the District will offer College Dual Enrollment courses aligned to the Career Pathways. Currently 14 schools are offering Career Academies (specific courses within the Pathways leading to industry professions). Career Academies run the gamut from engineering, to construction, to music and media production.

DPSCD Students Rise - We All Rise from DPS Community District on Vimeo.

About Detroit Public Schools Community District

Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is Michigan’s largest public education system located in Detroit. It is governed by a locally-elected, seven-member board with Dr. Nikolai Vitti serving as superintendent. The District’s goal is to provide every student with a beneficial and rightful educational experience, preparing students to be career and college ready, and qualified to compete in the global market. The District has 106 schools and educates nearly 50,000 children.

About Wayne County Community College District

WCCCD, the largest urban community college in Michigan, is a multi-campus district with six campus locations, including the Mary Ellen Stempfle University Center and the Michigan Institute for Public Safety Education (MIPSE), serving more than 70,000 credit and non-credit students annually across 36 cities and townships, and more than 500 square miles. WCCCD is committed to the continued development of new programs, workforce transformation, hosting community-based training sessions, and improving student facilities and services. For more information, visit www.wcccd.edu.

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