The John D. Rockefeller IV Career Center’s Coordinator of Vocational Services/Special Education Instructor Jeanne Pellegrino was invited by West Virginia Northern Community College (WVNCC) as a K12 Partner to attend Rural Pathways Project Institute 3 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This conference included community colleges from across the United States with over 350 people in attendance.
As part of the National Center for Inquiry & Improvement (NCII), The Rural Guided Pathways Project is a three-year project in which a national cohort of fifteen rural community colleges will work with each other — and with community partners in their regions — to implement evidence-based, institution-wide reforms grounded in the guided pathways framework.
The major focus of this conference was regarding the advantages of earning college credit in a specific pathway while still in high school. Studies report that high school students especially in rural and/or low SES areas have higher rates of completing a college field of study when they have earned free and/or affordable credits toward a planned pathway while attending high school.
The National Center for Inquiry & Improvement (NCII) and the state of West Virginia promote taking dual credits within a planned pathway. West Virginia has funded LevelUpWV, a dual enrollment initiative that allows high school students in West Virginia to earn college credits at no cost while preparing for high-demand careers. Currently healthcare, skilled trades, IT, and logistics are among the highest demand job sectors in West Virginia. According to Mrs. Pellegrino, “WVU Medicine employees roughly 35,000 people and that institution alone has use for people in the fields of healthcare, skilled trades, IT, and logistics”. Also, stated by Mrs. Pellegrino is that there is a big push in careers related to WV Tourism. Approximately 61,000 jobs are supported by the West Virginia Tourism industry with tourism bringing in around seventy-seven million visitors creating a $9.1 billion economic impact. This industry too has a need for a diverse workforce.
The John D. Rockefeller IV Career Center though WVNCC and LevelUpWV provide cost- covered college classes to juniors and seniors in welding, therapeutics, baking & pastry, pro-start culinary, and ECCAT (Early Childhood Classroom Assistant Teacher). Students may take additional college classes within their pathway in order to complete or nearly complete an associate’s degree while still in high school. After high school graduation these students may enter the workforce or continue on with their education in order to earn higher wages with more advanced degrees.
Pellegrino Attends Rural Pathways Project Institute 3
