Dive Brief:

• As a teacher at KIPP Central Academy in New Orleans, Jonathan Johnson decided not all students need to be pushed toward college, so he started work on a new charter school, Rooted School, that would instead prepare students for good-paying tech jobs.
• The Hechinger Report writes Rooted School is set to open in 2017 following a pilot with 14 students inside of the Algiers Technology Academy, where they took core classes from Algiers teachers, learned coding and programming, completed projects with tech company representatives, and finished their year with summer internships.
• Johnson is still finalizing plans for what Hechinger calls a tech boot camp model in a school that is still responsible for readying students to pass standardized tests, but with $150,000 from the NewSchools Venture Fund, Rooted will open its doors next year.

Dive Insight:

After years of looking down on any type of vocational training as inferior to college, some schools are reinvigorating career and technical education programs, clearly identifying pathways for students interested in working right after college. CTE programs don’t have to be alternatives to college, however. When students are exposed to a broad range of career opportunities, they can learn about what types of education they need to succeed in them.

Many adults are retraining in computer science fields through coding bootcamps and applying for entry level jobs. Rooted’s future graduates will, ostensibly, be able to do the same. Employers have said bootcamp grads do not come to the job knowing enough about computer science fundamentals, however, and may not be prepared to adapt to new technologies. High schools steering students toward tech careers should be sure to give students deep learning opportunities as often as possible, preparing them for more than just a first job.