'Hyperlocal' Career Pathway Programs in New Hampshire: Collaborating to Support Youth at the Secondary , Postsecondary Transition

With public debates about the value of college escalating and demographic forecasts threatening to reshape higher education, K-12 institutions are adapting by engaging youth more deliberately in "learning for careers" as they approach graduation. Some commentators argue that broadening options to include career and technical education (CTE), certificates, and 2-year dgrees is essential for realizing equity gains across racial and socioeconomic groups. Successfully building such pathways cannot be accomplished by educations institutions alone; it requires collaboration across public, nonprofit, and private sectors, as well as financial and policy incentives that reduce barriers and risks.This paper describes an innovative effort to address these challenges in New Hampshire, focusing on a set of programs that follow a hyperlocal approach to career pathway development.