Commack's 'Schools of Study' to debut this fall with 8 college-minded tracks

This fall, Commack High School students will have the chance to do what college students do — test out a major that may lead them to a career path.

It's part of a new program designed to offer students a glimpse into subjects that could help influence a concentration in college or career track.

Under the district's "Schools of Study" initiative, Commack High School will offer eight areas of focus: business; education; engineering and applied sciences; fine arts; law; liberal studies; medicine; and vocational and technical skills. 

Students enroll as juniors into one of the eight schools. They stay in it for an entire year and have access to field-specific labs including ones that resemble courtrooms and the New York Stock Exchange.

Carrie Lipenholtz, Commack High School’s principal, said the program lets students test-drive potential college majors, or careers, before they graduate. It affords "them that opportunity to think about it here before they’re spending all the money in college and making that decision ... and maybe changing that decision," she said.

The idea was to cluster similar courses to give students a shot at exploring a single field of study at a time, Commack Superintendent Jordan Cox said in an interview.

"We want to prepare them to make the best decision," Cox said. "We asked, ‘How can we connect high school students to future careers?’ because they have interests."

Learning labs

The new labs include one for the medicine "school," where students learn from ambulance volunteers; a financial lab with Bloomberg stock terminals to track stock market transactions; and a mock courtroom with a judge’s bench and tables for the prosecution and defense.

Some concentrations are proving more popular than others. So far, there are 130 students enrolled in the medicine program and 100 in the business focus, Cox said. 

During the initiative, students "may realize through their experiences whether it’s via an internship or coursework that it’s not something they want to pursue or it is something they want to pursue," Cox said. 

Broader LI effort

Nicole Galante, Stony Brook University's director of educational partnerships and innovation, said more high schools are demonstrating specific career paths earlier in the process.

"It's echoing what seems to work globally. We've heard a lot about how excellent education is in Finland and other European countries — and workforce development — and thinking about that sooner rather than later is really the key to that success," Galante said in an interview.

Other districts on Long Island run similar programs designed to spotlight career paths during high school.

Through Smithtown High School's career planning course, students explore various careers, take personality tests, hear guest speakers and take field trips to job sites. 

Amy Demchak-Connell, a business teacher at Westhampton Beach High School, said the school has an annual Seniors Skills Breakfast where seniors can network with professionals.

"It's a critical point in students' lives," Demchak-Connell, also chairwoman of the high school's Business Advisory Board, said in an interview. "To have a connection with mentors working in a career field who can tell them how to get into a career ... that can really help to influence a student."

In the Brentwood school district, students are earning licenses and certifications. This year, nearly 300 students earned workforce industry certifications, including for careers in HVAC and as security guards, lifeguards and first aid workers, the district said.

Construction recently broke on a culinary building equipped with kitchen appliances and technology, and the high school also has a cosmetology lab.

Wanda Ortiz-Rivera, Brentwood's superintendent, said the district is investing in career-centered education.

"We want to make sure students have the opportunities where they can see themselves going to college, exploring careers ... and I want them to be able to explore that while they're here," she said in an interview. "We want them to leave Brentwood prepared."