Sponsored by East Baton Rouge Parish Schools
Going into his first year as principal of Glen Oaks Magnet High School last year, Robert Signater was tasked with another opportunity: the Pathways to Bright Futures program.
Glen Oaks was chosen as the pilot for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System’s program which allows students to take advanced-level courses through Baton Rouge Community College with the hopes of eventually earning an associate degree or industry-based credential (IBC) along with their high school diploma. “My initial thought was, ‘Wow, let’s see what this is and what would it do to benefit the students of Glen Oaks,’ says Signater. “Once I learned more about it, I really became excited. I think it’s the best thing that ever could have happened to our campus.”
The school system will be expanding the Pathways program in the 2022-2023 school year to all incoming ninth-graders throughout the district. “The ability to take advanced level classes, whether AP, dual enrollment, or on a pathway to earn an IBC while in high school is an amazing life changing opportunity,” explained Academic Supervisor, Suguna Mayweather, who worked hands-on with the pilot cohort of students affectionately referred to as the “1st Class.”
FINDING THE PATH
The five Pathways offered are technology; construction and manufacturing; medical and pre-med; transportation and logistics; and liberal arts and management. “As freshmen, it inspires and gives them hope that they have what it takes to go to college and be successful,” Signater says, “That level of empowerment for students is priceless.”
Each of the Pathways offered was created in partnership with area businesses and industry leaders to fill workforce gaps in high-need, high-wage, and high-growth jobs. “With this program, we are preparing young people not just for graduation from high school, but for a life filled with opportunity. This includes preparing them to be career-ready, or for the next steps in their college career,” Mayweather says.
MEASURED SUCCESS
Historically, Glen Oaks has had a low engagement in dual enrollment and advanced-placement coursework, but the average GPA of the 1st Class was 2.59 (the district average is 2.44). Seventy-one percent of the students who participated in the 1st Class earned dual-enrollment credits. Of those, eight students earned three hours of college credit, 14 earned six hours, 15 earned nine hours and 18 earned at least 12 hours.
Overall, students in the 1st Class demonstrated higher performance in GPA, promotion rate, and LEAP 2025 than students in the previous year’s freshman cohort. This debunks the notion that high stakes testing and other measures are the sole indicators of advanced coursework readiness. It is believed that higher rigor and expectations are attributed to the students’ performance.
Visit ebrschools.org/brightfutures to learn more.
