Pathways to College/Year 13

High School GradThe PIC and its workforce and education partners are committed to ensuring that students who have not passed the MCAS when they exit high school are connected to education, training and career options.

Begun with the class of 2003, Boston’s “Year 13” initiative combines the PIC’s school-based services with those of the career centers, community colleges and community-based organizations (CBOs) to provide an integrated network of support, beginning in the high schools for students who will not yet be eligible for a Boston Public Schools (BPS) diploma.

Career Center Counselors

As part of the initiative, each of Boston’s three career centers employs a youth employment counselor who is focused on coordinating services for young people who have left high school without meeting the MCAS graduation requirement. Counselors reach out to seniors at their high schools during their school year, shifting the service site to the career center at the end of the year. During the summer, career center counselors also enroll young people in the Classroom at the Workplace program, the PIC’s workplace MCAS preparation program. The PIC and the career centers work closely together to ensure a smooth handoff of these youth from the PIC’s school-based youth employment system to the adult workforce and education system.

Services

Career center staff provide the following services:

  • career coaching,
  • job search assistance,
  • referrals to the community college MCAS programs, and
  • referrals to other appropriate education and training programs.

The career centers have particularly close partnerships with Bunker Hill and Roxbury Community Colleges, which have MCAS preparation programs dedicated to this group of young people. Career centers provide the colleges with referrals, career development, and job search assistance.

Career centers specialize in employment, and youth employment counselors attend to this aspect of young adults’ needs through activities such as on-site job interviews and career fairs. They are also part of the Boston Youth Workforce Collaborative (BYWC), a network focused on older youth employment needs. The BYWC organizes a job fair each year for older youth not traditionally served by the youth employment system.

The youth employment counselors work closely with community-based providers to provide youth with access to alternative education, career exploration and other developmental programs. The counselors work closely with the Boston Youth Service Network, which includes many of the community-based youth education and employment programs.

OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH: Find out how to get help to pass the MCAS and earn your high school diploma.