There are far more options for post-high-school life than attending a traditional university. Some students who prefer working with their hands may be better suited for a trade school. Others may want to dive right into starting their own business, if the timing and ideas are right. Local St. Louis schools are meeting these growing demands by offering alternatives that position students to have successful careers and opportunities before high school ends.
“Crossroads uses St. Louis as an extension of the classroom,” says Crossroads College Preparatory School marketing and communications coordinator Zoe Conner. “Students take the MetroLink, walk to internships and community projects, and explore a campus defined by partnerships with organizations like Pfizer, The Novel Neighbor, and Craft Alliance.”
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Crossroads students can participate in the 5th Day program, described as an “educational laboratory for innovation” that focuses on active learning, problem-solving, advocacy, and leadership. The thinking goes that the program moves beyond the more passive form of traditional education and allows kids to apply their skills outside the classroom in activities such as geocaching, healthcare shadowing at Pfizer, and studying urban landscapes.
In March, The Whitfield School announced the expansion of its signature senior capstone program. Beginning this academic year, the program will transition from an advisory-based project to a full-year, credited course. As a result, students will have more opportunities for real-world learning, mentorship, and hands-on application, all driven by students and designed to help participants build modern skills. Topics include law, biomechanics, business, chemistry, and more.
St. Dominic High School will launch its Building Trades program this year as well. Open to juniors and seniors, the program includes hands-on construction trades coursework that covers four key areas: carpentry, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing/pipefitting. Students in Building Trades will participate in quarter-long courses that serve as an entry-level guide to the basics within each discipline, such as safety, tool usage, trade-specific vocabulary, and construction math. St. Dominic is among a handful of private, co-ed schools across the region to offer a trades curriculum on campus.
“This affords [students] the opportunity to experience [working with their hands] while in high school and see if it is a potential career path for them,” St. Dominic High School president Jim Welby says.
Likewise, De Smet Jesuit High School announced its new entrepreneurship program. Set to debut this fall, it will feature a hybrid classroom and coworking space.
Meanwhile, St. Louis University High School recently introduced its Conrads Program for Integrated Sciences, a STEM-focused curriculum with four distinct pathways: engineering innovation, data science and AI, computer science, and environmental science with microelectronics. Students decide to participate in the program during the spring semester of their freshman year. Once they’re accepted, coursework begins in earnest the next year. Besides classes, the scholarship program also includes community-building activities and off-campus visits, plus discipline-specific clubs and outreach to middle school students.
While every program has a different makeup, all are designed to prepare students beyond traditional classroom coursework and empower them to apply what they’re learning in practice.
