Career Connected Schools

Self-assessment

How ready is your district, actually?

Twenty-four statements across the six capacity domains from our Perkins-aligned readiness playbook, about five minutes. Best taken by a leadership team, out loud, disagreeing — the point of a mirror is accuracy. Answer for where your district is today, not where the grant application says it is.

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Domain 1 of 6Leadership & Vision

Our district has a written, shared vision for career-connected learning, and it appears in our strategic plan — not just in conversations.

A specific leader owns this work, with the time and authority to move it.

Our school board has discussed career-connected learning within the last year and understands the policy decisions it may require.

We have committed to measuring this work with named indicators — including an explicit equity metric — before launch, not after.

Domain 2 of 6Staffing & Human Capital

We can identify credentialed (or credentialable) instructors for the career fields we want to offer, including industry professionals through alternative certification routes.

We fund — or have a concrete plan to fund — a work-based learning coordinator role distinct from teaching assignments.

Our professional development plan differentiates support for career-technical instructors, including those arriving from industry.

We have explored shared or regional staffing options with our ISD, regional center, or neighboring districts.

Domain 3 of 6Curriculum & Instruction

Academic and career-technical teachers have common planning time (or a scheduled plan for it) to design integrated learning together.

Our target programs align to industry standards and lead to recognized credentials, dual credit, or both.

We have identified how academic credit will be earned inside career-connected experiences — integration or substitution — under our state's rules.

Project-based, applied instruction is a stated instructional commitment in the programs we are planning, not an exception.

Domain 4 of 6Partnerships & Community

We have at least one anchor employer or postsecondary partner willing to formalize commitments in writing.

Each planned program has (or will have) an active employer advisory group that meets at least twice a year.

Partner recruitment and management has a named owner and a system — not a stack of individual goodwill.

Our work-based learning plan is a continuum — awareness through internships or apprenticeships — not a collection of one-off events.

Domain 5 of 6Facilities & Safety

We have identified adequate facilities for the programs we're planning — ours or our partners' — with industry-comparable equipment.

Each planned learning environment (lab, shop, worksite) has or will have a documented safety plan.

Class-size and supervision ratios for hands-on learning have been planned and are realistically staffable.

Transportation to off-site learning is planned and budgeted — or the model avoids it by design.

Domain 6 of 6Finance & Sustainability

We have mapped the braided funding for launch: Perkins, state CTE allocations, general fund, employer contributions, philanthropy.

Recurring costs — staffing, materials, transportation, equipment refresh — have an identified ongoing funding source.

Our budget plan spans multiple years and survives the end of any single grant.

Finance leadership sits at the planning table rather than being informed afterward.