Superintendent Thurmond Highlights Ongoing Efforts to Redesign the High School Experience in California Aligned with XQ Institute Report

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and the California Department of Education (CDE) announced today that the CDE is engaging in conversation alongside its partners at the State Board of Education (SBE) and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) to redesign the high school experience. The goals of this redesign effort are to develop and scale structures across California high schools that will:

• provide personalized supports that enable pupil success,
• foster deeper learning and competencies focused on twenty-first-century skills, and
• encourage innovative uses of technology and experiential learning opportunities.

At its March meeting, the SBE plans to hold a Portrait of a Graduate/Learner Study Session to consider setting a north star for SBE policy and decision-making that includes a comprehensive set of school- or local educational agency-level aspirations for what every learner will know and be able to do when they leave school. This important conversation follows a new national report from the XQ Institute analyzing the work of states across the nation to redesign high school. That report highlights two of Superintendent Thurmond’s strategic initiatives—community schools and internship/apprenticeship programs—as key components of future-focused high school redesign.

These initiatives propel California’s work to transform high school experiences through investments in community schools and career-connected learning. The XQ Institute report, The Future Is High School: A Strategy for State Leaders to Accelerate Learning, Work, and American Renewal, spotlights California’s leadership in advancing these two key strategies: supporting community-led redesign and expanding access to high-quality, work-based learning and youth apprenticeships.

“California is demonstrating that when we redesign high school with communities at the center and connect learning to real-world opportunity, students thrive,” Superintendent Thurmond said. “Our investments in community schools and youth apprenticeships are helping students stay engaged, gain real-life work experience, and graduate prepared for the future. We are proud to see this work recognized.”

California’s work has emerged as a national model for supporting community-led redesign, launching the California Secondary School Redesign Pilot Program to expand and document effective secondary transformation practices. One of these practices is the state’s Community Schools Partnership Program, widely praised by district leaders as a “game changer” for re-engaging students and families by strengthening partnerships and integrating student supports.

The report also highlights California’s progress in establishing a comprehensive definition of work-based learning (WBL), with guiding principles for how students can earn credentials for coursework credit and strategies for youth apprenticeships. CDE-administered programs such as the California Partnership Academy Youth Apprenticeship Pilot Program and the Career Technical Education Incentive Grant empower California students to build career-ready skills across multiple high-demand industries. These apprenticeships include technical coursework, industry-recognized standards, paid on-the-job experience, and credentials that prepare students for both college and career.

The XQ Institute report, released every two years, underscores the importance of strong implementation to ensure innovative policies translate into meaningful outcomes.

“States have more opportunity, responsibility, and authority over public education than at any time in recent memory,” said Russlynn Ali, CEO of XQ Institute and Managing Director of the Education Fund at Emerson Collective. “With 2.1 million jobs to fill each year, California leaders recognize what’s at stake and the role high school plays in preparing young people and investing in the state’s future.”

For more information about the California Community Schools Partnership Program, please visit the CDE Community Schools web page. For more information about apprenticeship program opportunities, for both schools and students, email Path2work@cde.ca.gov.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100