Pathway Partnership
Applied Learning for the Next Generation of Innovators
The Snohomish Education Foundation is helping Snohomish schools promote innovation through the Pathway Partnership Program—a collaboration between the Snohomish School District, regional industry-leaders, and higher education. By offering specialized training in machining and biotechnology, the Pathway program helps students prepare for life after high school by:
- Motivating them to graduate.
- Improving their employability.
- Steering them toward higher education.
The Pathway Partnership Program enjoys plentiful support from national and multinational corporations, in the form of curriculum development, financial assistance, and in-kind donations. Understandably, the program has drawn interest from other school districts. Snohomish School District leaders have responded by sharing insights at regional and national workshops and conferences, taking the partnership one step further. The Pathway Partnership Program isn’t just a new wave of innovative education—it’s a beacon of local and national cooperation, and of global competitiveness.
The Machining Pathway Partnership implements a computer-based, high-tech machining, programming, and engineering design course. Through it, students at both Snohomish and Glacier Peak High Schools can earn up to 35 credits in advanced manufacturing technology through Everett Community College. The labs at both schools offer access to state-of-the-art equipment and software donated by corporate sponsors as nearby as Snohomish (Rhino Manufacturing) and as far away as Texas (Siemens Corporation) and Paris, France (Dassault Systemes).
Within six years of initiating the program at Snohomish High School, graduation rates for Career and Technical Education (CTE) students and Machining Pathway Program students have exceeded 90 percent; and the average cumulative GPA among CTE students has increased nearly 30 percent.
The Biotech Pathway Partnership began at Glacier Peak High School in September 2009 and at Snohomish High School in September 2010. Highlights at Glacier:
- Curricular and technical support partnership with Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center, Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, and the University of Washington.
- A Science Teaching Excellence award of $10,000 from Amgen, to teacher Tami Caraballo, to fund molecular models and a thermal cycler for students conducting DNA research.
- A $50,000 Snohomish Education Foundation grant toward purchase of a 3D printer—one of only two such printers in the state of Washington. This printer allows students to build 3D models of their research.
In the future, the Pathway Partnership Program may include:
- An agricultural biotech program focused on agriculture and plant science as it relates to food.
- A bio-mechanics component to the Machining Pathway Program to focus on bio-robotics.
