All4Ed Flash: South Bend Is Proof. Will We Pay Attention?
โก๏ธ Welcome back to the All4Ed Flash!
Career-connected learning is changing lives in communities like South Bend, Indianaโbut only when policymakers invest in it. In this episode of the All4Ed Flash, we look at how federal funding helped the South Bend Community School Corporation expand high-quality pathways, connect students with industry mentors like Beacon Health System, and create real opportunities in fields from healthcare to aviation and media.
These programs prepare students for meaningful careers, strengthen local economies, and help young people see a future in their own communities. But when funding is cut, access disappears. Career-connected learning works. The question is whether we will invest in it. Learn more about the pathways work from All4Ed and how communities like South Bend are showing whatโs possible.
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In an era of global competition, the United States must invest in its people. If we want to remain a global economic leader, we need to build a skilled, resilient, homegrown workforce. That starts with our high schools.
Federal funding is the lifeline that makes career-connected learning possible in communities like South Bend, Indiana. State resources support Career and Technical Education, but they have not represented the level of transformative investment needed to redesign high school for all students.
Thatโs where federal investments like Perkins V and the Career Connected High Schools program made a differenceโhelping South Bend strengthen industry partnerships, expand access to high-quality pathways, and guide students toward meaningful, well-paying careers.
While this funding was cut by the Trump Administration, the U.S. Senate Committee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education recently urged the U.S. Department of Education to continue supporting this program through its Innovation and Modernization Grants authority.
These investments should be part of our nationโs economic playbook. Without sustained federal support, students lose access to opportunities that expand their horizons and allow them to gain economic mobility.
South Bend Community School Corporation is showing whatโs possible when educating students is seen as a collective responsibility and is valued by everyone in their community.
At Washington High Schoolโs Medical Allied Health program, students partner with Beacon Health Systemโlearning directly from healthcare professionals through hands-on training and mentorship.
In the aviation pathway program, students donโt just study aircraftโthey build one. Working alongside instructors and industry mentors, they assemble a fully functional plane from the ground up, creating a direct pathway into high-paying aviation careers.
And at Riley High Schoolโs Broadcast Media and Film program, students run South Bendโs only student radio stationโproducing podcasts, editing video, and building professional portfolios.
These programs do more than prepare students for jobs. They strengthen local economies, reduce brain drain, and help young people see a future for themselves in their own communities.
Career-connected learning works. But it only works when policymakers choose to invest in it.
Our studentsโand our economyโdepend on it. To learn more about the work in South Bend, Indiana, please visit all4ed.org/policy/pathways.
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