In many schools, rigorous academic coursework鈥擜dvanced Placement classes, dual-enrollment programs, or career-technical electives鈥攊s reserved for only the highest-achievers.
What does it take for a district to make those options available to the majority of the student body?
Answering that question has driven the work of Jennifer Norrell, the outgoing superintendent of East Aurora schools in Illinois, and Lazaro Lopez, the associate superintendent overseeing curriculum and instruction for the Township High School District 214 outside of Chicago.
Norrell and Lopez, both recognized as 2025 EdWeek Leaders To Learn From, discussed how they transformed their districts鈥� approaches to college and career readiness in a May 6 panel during Education Week鈥檚 Virtual Leadership Symposium.
In East Aurora, Norrell vastly expanded the district鈥檚 AP program, more than doubling the percentage of high schoolers taking these courses over the past six years, while holding the pass rate steady.
Lopez led the creation of what he calls a 鈥渃ollege-ready by design鈥� framework in District 214 that allows students to explore and pursue career interests through coursework and work-based learning. In the 2023-24 school year, 84 percent of the district鈥檚 graduating seniors earned early college credits.
鈥淥ur theory was, if the school had a purposeful place in a student鈥檚 self-discovery of their future, 鈥� and if we can design a system that revolves around that individual, then we get them to not only be at school but to be fully engaged with school,鈥� said Lopez.
He and Norrell spoke about the logistical and pedagogical challenges involved in building a college- and career-ready approach from the ground up. Read on for three takeaways for school and district leaders from the conversation.
1. Lay the groundwork for students to tackle challenging courses.
In East Aurora, leaders wanted to make sure students could handle more academically rigorous content before they started expanding AP offerings, said Norrell.
鈥淭his requires more than just having counselors put kids in new classes,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his was an entire paradigm shift for us as a district.鈥�
Norrell and her colleagues started by focusing on shoring up students鈥� reading skills鈥攁 necessity if the high schoolers were to take courses featuring college-level texts. The district mandated additional reading classes for most students, including some who were in honors courses.
They also transformed 9th grade classes, and some 10th grade classes, into pre-AP classes, aligning the curriculum to the prerequisite knowledge and skills students would need for AP classes down the line.
Steps such as these set students up for success, Norrell said.
2. Support teachers鈥� growth.
In offering advanced coursework, District 214 took an 鈥渁ll of the above鈥� approach, said Lopez. The district has dual-credit courses, student work experiences, and a portfolio of career-related electives.
Putting these courses on the schedule required 糖心动漫vlog who were certified to teach them.
Building up staff capacity was a 鈥渟low and steady transition,鈥� said Lopez. The district offered incentives in teacher contracts鈥攃overing more of the tuition for graduate school courses if the master鈥檚 degree a teacher was pursuing would allow them to teach one of the district鈥檚 dual-credit courses.
District leaders also formed partnerships with local institutes of higher education, negotiating a cohort rate with one university that allowed a group of teachers to earn the MBAs that would certify them to teach college-level business courses.
3. Shift school day schedules to make it easier for students to have deep academic experiences.
Both East Aurora and District 214 are on block schedules, an approach in which students are in fewer classes for longer periods of time each day.
In District 214, students can more easily leave campus during the day to complete their career-related internships, said Lopez鈥攍ike the students in the district鈥檚 medical academy, who spend several hours at a hospital once a week.
A block schedule also gives teachers more space to dig into challenging texts or explore complicated topics, said Norrell. It means that students鈥� lunch block is longer as well, opening up a portion of that period for some kids to receive additional intervention services.
鈥淚t gives you more flexibility and more time,鈥� said Lopez.
To listen to the full panel discussion with Norrell and Lopez, watch the event recording.
