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Linked Learning: Using Learning Time Creatively to Prepare Students for College and Career

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A California-led initiative called Linked Learning offers a promising systemic approach to reform that is designed to address the many challenges that currently face American high schools. As this report describes, the Linked Learning approach includes multiple elements that provide high school students with a rigorous academic core and hands-on real world learning experiences that prepare students for both college and a career. High school reform strategies such as Linked Learning require the intentional and strategic use of time to accomplish ambitious goals that result in positive outcomes for students who are traditionally underserved.

This report highlights the efforts of high schools implementing multiple Linked Learning pathways in the Los Angeles, Oakland, Porterville, and Sacramento Unified School Districts. Each of these pathways has reconfigured the use of time in order to provide students with a more effective learning experience. Building on the lessons learned from these districts, as well as collective expertise in high school reform and high-quality increased learning time, the report also offers local, state, and federal policy recommendations.