Tolland high school pathways

The purpose of developing pathways at Tolland High School is to provide a more cohesive overall experience for students, while allowing them a more focused opportunity to explore a career and/or interest. These smaller, focused pathways serve to link students with peers, teachers, and community partners to foster academic engagement and success, develop a sense of community, and help students to connect what they learn in school with their career aspirations and goals. 

The pathway concept will focus on developing three key elements:

• A small learning community. A team of staff at the high school, including teachers, school counselors, and THS and district administration, who are invested in working with students within a particular focus area, and who will continually work to develop and foster the connections, partnerships, and experiences that will be integral to the students’ experience within the Pathway.  This team of staff also become key mentors to the students within their pathway and have the opportunity to provide greater supports for the students.

• College preparatory curriculum with a career/interest-based theme. The pathways combine academic, elective, and vocational curricula into an integrated theme. These course experiences include the following: 

  • A suggested progression of courses to take along with priority access to some courses.

  • Increased opportunities to develop and apply specific skills related to the pathway focus.

  • Projects that bring together skills acquired from academic and elective/vocational classes. 

  • Specialized field trips, competitions, speakers, and other experiences.

• Partnerships with employers, community, and higher education. Work has already begun to establish partnerships with employers to build stronger connections between school and work, and inform the development of core and vocational courses. These partnerships are also key to the goal of providing mentoring, job shadowing, and internship opportunities to students. In addition, partnerships will be developed with post-secondary education to further inform our pathway and curriculum development, and help us prepare students for success as they pursue future education and training.

How does my pathway affect the courses i might take?

While these pathways provide more focused experiences within a particular topic or field, it is important to point out that the intention is not to limit students in any way. Tolland High School is a comprehensive high school that provides a wide range of coursework designed to develop well rounded students. While pathways may have “required” courses, they will not be designed in a way that would keep any student from taking other courses of interest. For example, a student joining the Engineering Pathway that also has a passion for music and participates in band will be afforded every opportunity to pursue both. 

Once I choose a Pathway, do i stay in the pathway until i graduate?

Pathways are designed to allow students to explore a potential career path or other interest. They are not meant to “lock in” students for 4 years. While some students may have their interest affirmed, others may find that a particular career or interest was not what they expected. In this case, students can and should change their pathway and explore something else. This is vital to students at this age as they develop a stronger sense of self and plans for their future, and we want our students to develop an informed plan before committing large amounts of time and money to future education or training.

How do i join a pathway?

Tell your counselor you are interested and they will add you to the student list for the appropriate Pathway.