Loudoun Schools To Take Part In New Lab School To Support Career Pathways

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — To help students better understand career pathways after high school, Loudoun County Public Schools is participating in a new lab school with local higher education institutions.

Lab schools, a concept pushed by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin with state start-up funds, are K-12 programs through higher education institutions to test innovative educational programs as well as provide new opportunities and career pathways to students. Lab schools are public schools through private or public higher education institutions and serve historically underserved students through a lottery selection process. The Virginia Board of Education approved six new lab schools in late April, including one through Northern Virginia's George Mason University.

Loudoun County Public Schools will join GMU's lab school program in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College. The LCPS-based program, called Accelerated College and Employability Skills (ACCESS) Academy, seeks to boost students' career pathways to high-demand careers such as information technology.

"ACCESS Academy will provide innovative educational experiences for students that will lead to certifications and two- and four-year degrees, as well as support students with access to high-demand and well-compensated jobs in the information technology fields," said LCPS Superintendent Aaron Spence in a statement. "We have heard loud and clear from our community that our students need alternative pathways to college. And this is just one way we are getting them there."

The ACCESS Academy will directly serve 11th and 12th grade students and include phased-in lab school preparation in 9th and 10th grades. According to LCPS, 9th and 10th grade students will focus on core graduation requirements like English, social studies, math and science and will start to work on employability skills and problem-based learning activities. Faculty will come from LCPS, George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development and Information Technology Program, Northern Virginia Community College.

"Our focus on innovative, problem-based learning and skills needed for the future workforce will ensure students have robust wrap-around supports all the way through their education and early careers to build a better future for themselves and their communities," said Dean Ingrid Guerra-López of George Mason’s College of Education and Human Development.

The program will also include a new Learning Innovation Lab to evaluate new teaching and learning methods and provide training for current and future teachers, including teacher candidates, in-service teachers, and faculty in information technology and other areas.

The start date of the program has not been announced.