"You can't get that from a book": LIFE Academy & Linked Learning

"You never when kids are fully--with their whole heart--listening. Turns out it's all the time."Fruitvale's LIFE Academy is a 6-12 school boasting one of Oakland Unified's oldest--and most successful--pathway programs. Students at LIFE embed their learning in the health field, gaining exposure to unique instructional experiences and inernship opportunities. By committing deeply to the linked learning pedagogy and building authentic relationships with students, LIFE graduates students A-G* ready at twice the district average, and student enroll in 4-year institutions at significantly higher rates. We went to see how they're doing it.*Don't know A-G? That's the⁠ course sequence⁠ the UC and CSU systems require students complete in order to even apply to a state college. Get this: It's different than the ⁠state diploma requirements⁠. Not just a little different, like a lot different. True story. You can earn a high school diploma in California, a real diploma, and somehow be ineligible to apply to a 4-year state college. If you read that and thought: "Dang, that makes no sense." Why would we create a gap, a literal crack for students with less access to highly educated parents, private tutors, and lot's of college counseling to fall into? That's why some folks are out here saying the system isn't broken, it's doing just what it was designed to do. Mentioned in this episode:LIFE Academy Previous Episode: ⁠High School Isn't What You RememberReclassification rates in OUSDA-G completion rates in OUSDYou love this podcast and you want swag