Giving young students the skills employers want is crucial to preparing them for their futures after high school, says Jorge Ochoa, director of undergraduate career services at KIPP NYC. Many of those skills are soft, or durable skills. “What does that mean? You need to learn how to communicate,” explains Ochoa.
Ochoa joined WorkingNation’s editor-in-chief Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation Overheard at College Board Forum 2024 in Austin, Texas.
“If we know that that is a skillset that [students] need, how do we build curriculum that ensures that they’re practicing that while they’re in high school? And how do we build programming to ensure that if we missed that in high school, we’re providing that while they’re in college?”
KIPP Forward is a program that makes a 20-year commitment to guiding students from kindergarten to career. Ochoa says, “When we get into middle school, specifically at KIPP NYC, they do a lot of exploration when it comes to careers – what they’re interested in. ‘You say that you want to be a doctor, what does it look like to be a doctor? What are your strengths? What are your aptitudes? And what is the path that gets you there?’”
Regarding postsecondary education, he adds, “We have two pathways, so if they’re college-enrolled, what that looks like. And if they decide to go into the workforce, we have our career technical education workforce development program, as well.”
Ochoa explains KIPP schools are public charter schools, “We don’t have tuition, so we’re no different than a public school. I think the biggest difference is our ability to be able to really work with the community to provide for them the desires that they have for their future.”
Learn more about KIPP NYC.
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