How to make career-connected learning accessible to all
Superintendent Kara Casimiro wants to remove academic barriers that block some high school students from exploring more fulfilling and lucrative careers. That’s why the recently launched Academies of Danbury High School is open to all learners in Connecticut’s Danbury Public Schools.
“We owe it to kids to say, ‘Here are all the things that exist that are high-wage, high-demand. We are going to shine the flashlight on this for you so you can see where the opportunities exist,'” Casimiro says on the latest episode of District Administration’s “A Good Lesson” podcast.
Danbury’s seven academies cover innovative science and medicine; professional and public service; communication and design; clean energy and green design; technology and cybersecurity; entrepreneurship; and arts and engineering. The facility, which paved the way for a satellite high school campus in Danbury, can serve as a model for other superintendents looking to expand access to CTE, says Casimiro, who was named superintendent in 2024.
Planning for the academies began before COVID, when graduation rates and engagement began to slide in the district. After visiting Academies of Nashville, the model emerged as a promising way to recommit to college and career preparation at Connecticut’s largest high school.
“We have a unique community, with unique needs, and the world is starting to change,” Casimiro observes.
District leaders then had “a million and one conversations” with community partners, the school board, school staff, families and other stakeholders to bujild excitement for career-connected learning. Assistant principals at the high school transitioned to academy directors to give them a sense of ownership over the “mini-schools” within the high school.
Casimiro and her team are now developing K-8 programs that will feed into the high school academies.
Find out more about how Danbury created its high school academies here:
You can also subscribe to “A Good Lesson” on Apple and Spotify.
