Earlier this year, the Alliance for Excellent Education (All4Ed) visited Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) to show members of its staff and several state and local policymakers from across the country how the district has implemented Linked Learning. OUSD uses the Linked Learning approach to provide historically underserved students with real-world learning experiences alongside rigorous academic instruction and personal supports to help students graduate high school and pursue meaningful postsecondary opportunities. One way OUSD has accomplished this is through the Oakland Health Pathways Partnership (OHPP), a cross-sector initiative established in 2014 that has increased students’ exposure to health careers through high-quality work-based learning (WBL) experiences and relevant course work.

When I tell people I am interested in education policy, they often respond with, “So, what do you think about the Common Core?” I pause, apprehensive to answer what is inevitably a loaded question. Explaining my thoughts on the Common Core requires first explaining why I am interested in education.

I attended high school in one of the highest performing school districts in Louisiana, where I took the most rigorous course of study available and graduated with a 4.0 grade point average. Yet, when I arrived at Dartmouth College in 2012, I realized I was not adequately prepared, particularly for college-level math and science.