1,100+ Students, 40 Courses, Endless Career Possibilities

From marketing plans to graphic designs and nursing care to home construction, nearly 1,200 students at Spring Lake Park High School chose to engage in career exploration and gain work-ready skills through Career and College Pathways this year.

There are now 40 courses offered at the high school that span three high-demand industry sectors – Business and Entrepreneurship; Health and Human Services and Technology, Engineering and Design. For the 2025-2026 school year, 1,191 students enrolled in one or more pathways courses and about 480 students enrolled in 2 or more.

“Our Career and College Pathways are a differentiator – unique opportunities that lay a strong foundation in creating future-ready students,” says Eric Van Brocklin, Career Pathways lead. “We keep looking the future and building new opportunities and approach to not only develop academic skills in specific areas of interest but to prepare students with the career and life skills they’ll need to success in their future pursuits.”

Career and College Pathways courses apart from other courses is the real-world experience students gain as they develop skills within a field and explore career options. The learning is relevant and hands on.

Pathways experiences are set apart by the fact that the courses deliver curriculum that is more hands-on with direct application. They also provide access to industry partners working in the designated field. Students build a house alongside tradespeople. They design communication and marketing plans for real business problems. They student teach young learners and earn certifications as EMTs.

Business and Entrepreneurship

There are now 10 courses in the Business and Entrepreneurship pathway. Each offers a different perspective on business-related career paths while developing not just career skills but life skills.

Personal Finance and Money Management is a new course and a graduation requirement. While the state created a personal finance requirement for all Minnesota students, the development and placement of that course within the career pathway helps student connect the learning to life and career applications.

Students explore their beliefs and values, learn to budget, dabble in stock market activities, have their eyes opened to compound interest and a variety of other, often immediately, applicable learning.

“I’m making better money decisions – how to not spend it all, how to save part of it and where to use the rest,” says Abdiqadir, 10th grader.

In the year-long Marketing and Entrepreneurship class students once again stepped into the spotlight to pitch their innovative business ideas in this year’s “Shark Tank”-style competition. Authentic learning experiences takes on new meaning as student pitch their products and services to more than 30 professionals from the community who volunteer their time to judge.

From calming pet collars to Needoh-inspired fidgets to athletic recovery services to cleats made for a woman’s foot, the student work inspired enthusiastic responses from judges. For the students, presenting their ideas to professionals working in potential fields of interest provided an authentic opportunity to test new skills.

“It was definitely nerve wracking the first time we went up there. It's different presenting in front of your friends versus in front of these cool business professionals who are possibly in the field you want to go into and who you want to impress,” says Lauren, 12^th grader. “But after our first presentation, we just relaxed. The judges asked some really interesting questions which helped us think about our product in different ways.”

Like many of her classmates, Lauren plans to attend college and pursue a business-aligned major. Other students learn business maybe isn’t their path. Regardless, the skills they develop apply to a variety of paths. At the end of the year, students earn business elective credit and English Language Arts credit with a college credit opportunity, all applying to graduation requirements.

Health and Human Services

Over the 11 Health and Human Services courses, students explore everything from nursing, emergency medical response, to firefighting, teaching and exercise science.

The Nursing Assistant course, part of the Opportunities in Emergency Care program, follows the Minnesota State Nursing Assistant curriculum and mirrors the rigor of a postsecondary healthcare program. Over the 12-week course students can earn four college credits in addition to their certification. It’s rigorous. Some students find their passion. Others find out this is not what they want to do. Both are equally important.

Talley, a senior, was encouraged to take this course because of his caring nature. He admitted he didn’t always take school seriously before enrolling in this course.

“This class was a big 180 for me,” says Talley. “It requires a lot of time and energy. I used to procrastinate and wanted to cruise through high school. This class made me want to step it up – be more organized, study, show up on time. I’m enjoying my new life like this.”

Class enrollments for Nursing Assistant, Emergency Medical Technician and Emergency Medical Responder were maxed out for the first time this year. Students in Opportunities in Emergency Care can earn certification in fields where they can immediately go to work. This year, they are on track to have students earn 40 EMT and 96 nursing assistant certifications.  

These are double block classes, taking up two hours per day, which is a big commitment. In addition, students are required to volunteer 10 hours each trimester putting their skills into action. The hours are critical for improving skills through practice. of the volunteer hours throughout the year prepares students for their credentialing exams and for future jobs.

Our future teachers pursue Teacher Education as a year-long course following the same curriculum taught at the University of Minnesota. Students earn six college credits while completing at least 60 hours of service learning.

Throughout the year, students spend Mondays and Fridays student teaching in elementary, middle or high school classrooms across the district. The remainder of the week is spent at the high school, where they engage in readings, discussions, reflections and collaborative learning experiences designed to deepen their understanding of the profession.

For senior Vanessa Barry, the lessons of Teacher Education come to life each week in a kindergarten classroom at Woodcrest Spanish Immersion - the same school where her own education began.

“The students are all at different stages in their language development and their overall learning.

Depending on where they are, you have to adjust how you explain things and really pay attention to how each child understands,” says Vanessa. “Coming back to Woodcrest as a student teacher has confirmed that this is exactly what I want to do.” 

Technology, Engineering and Design

From graphic design and drafting to engineering and construction to computer science and mechatronics, the 19 courses in the Technology, Engineering and Design cover a lot of ground.

In Intro to Mechatronics (How Machines Work) course, curiosity meets creativity as students explore how robotics and machines come together. Through hands-on projects, they discover how mechanical, electrical and digital systems work in harmony to make machines move, think and perform. For the 2026-2027, a second course will be added to go deeper.

“I’ve always been into engineering and mechanics,” says Bennett, a 9th grader. “When I was younger, I built things out of cardboard and paper, now I have my own 3D printer where I design and print my own projects. This class lets me do it all – engineering, mechanics, building, creating. I just love to create stuff.”

Students explore seven skill areas of modern manufacturing. One day, students might be measuring bolts with micrometers and calipers. The next, they’re working together to program a robotic arm or using math to calculate voltage in a circuit.

Out in the parking lot, construction is in full swing. Students in the Construction Trades class are hard at work building a house. Safety comes first, and before long, students are practicing with nail guns and heading out to the job site to start real construction work. The hands-on, fast-paced learning that comes with being on the job site is appealing to many students.

“A lot of what we’re learning is how to use tools the right way and apply proper building techniques,” says Parker, a senior. “Before this course, I didn’t know what house wrap was called or what the numbers on a speed square meant - now I do. Getting to apply what we learn in real time on real projects has been a different but cool type of learning.”

Whether students pursue a career in the construction trades – or just learn home repair skills, the learning is applicable.

Classes like How to Make Almost Anything helps student build skills to consult with “clients” to design and deliver real products – like customized, 3D printed bathroom passes. A new course coming next year, Machine and Technology Essentials, will provide an introduction to technology careers. The course will provide a next step for students who have already taken Epic Game Design at Westwood, a first step in the pathway.

“The intro class will provide an intro to coding, cybersecurity, physical networks and from there students can decide to follow an interest in cybersecurity or coding or go more hands on with Mechatronics - branch out to find their niche in technology,” says Karen Kutz, innovative and personalized learning specialist.

The Epic Game Design is the first elective course offering aligned to Career and College Pathways at the middle school level. There is a desire to build more opportunities for students to begin their exploration in 7th and 8th grade.

Preparing for careers, the future

Career and college planning support augments many of the pathways experiences. From career fairs to internships and jobs, students can find help for their next steps.

Chase, a senior, took Construction Trades and is pursuing a career as a plumber. Beyond the actual job and interest in construction, he has benefited from learning about work life through the Career Seminar course. The course covers the nitty-gritty of getting, having and even leaving jobs. Through mock-interviews and learning how to create a resume and cover letter, Chase had an advantage.

“The construction class helped me figure out what I want to do, and this course helped me figure out how to get the job,” says Chase.

He starts his job with a plumber in Wisconsin after he graduates this spring.

Each year, teachers and school leaders assess and enhance the Career and College Pathways. They add new courses, re-engineer others. This year, nine years after the pathways first launched, a more in-depth study is underway. The goal is to make sure pathways continue to evolve with industry trends, technology advancements, and workforce demands.

We’re also always looking at opportunities to bring more Pathways-type experiences into courses outside of the Career and College Pathways programming. Students are more engaged with hands-on, relevant learning. When we can incorporate industry realities into learning, we can create well-rounded, workforce-ready graduates prepared to adapt to the future of work. Hope Rahn, Executive Director of Learning and Innovation.