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The CAPS Network and Colorado Springs School of Technology offer two approaches to connecting high school education with professional experiences. The examples show how students can explore careers and contribute to real projects, but questions remain about scaling the models and measuring their long-term effects.
An opinion article describes two ways nonprofits and education partners are bringing career-connected learning to high school students: the CAPS Network links students to professional projects across programs in multiple states, while Colorado Springs School of Technology builds outside partnerships into its school model. The examples matter as schools and employers seek ways to connect classroom learning with careers, though the article says both approaches are still developing.
The CAPS Network connects students with professional experiences through roughly 140 high school programs in 32 states, reaching more than 15,000 young people, according to the article. Students work with professionals on projects for real clients and explore fields including engineering, health care, entrepreneurship and technology. Many spend five to 10 hours a week on this work and reflect on what they are learning about their interests and strengths.
The article describes one graduate, Chloe Aspleaf, who worked in a cancer research lab at the University of Kansas Health System. The experience helped her decide that, while she enjoyed science, she wanted a more people-focused work environment. She later explored health care through a community pharmacy, earned a pharmacy technician license while in high school and pursued the field after graduation. The article also recounts student work for The Tamale Kitchen, a Kansas City nonprofit: students designed a food-truck wrap, planned equipment placement, researched licensing and produced nutrition labels.
At Colorado Springs School of Technology (CSST), a tuition-free public school in Colorado Springs School District 11’s innovation zone, professional opportunities are part of the school’s design. The school was created with the city’s Department of Economic Development and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, with seed funding from a National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines grant. It opened with about 50 students in 2025-26 and has nearly 80 in its second year, the article reports. School leader Nathan Gorsch said more than 90% of first-year students returned.
Career Exploration Beyond Job Placement
The two models point to a broader way to evaluate career education: not only by internships completed, credentials earned or jobs secured, but also by whether students learn what work suits them and contribute to actual projects. Aspleaf’s lab experience helped her rule out one kind of work before choosing another. The Tamale Kitchen received student-designed materials and research tied to its needs.
That distinction matters as districts expand work-based learning. A placement count can show how many students participated, but it cannot by itself show the quality of the experience or what students took from it. The article’s authors argue that relationships, self-knowledge and student contributions should also be considered. Those outcomes are harder to measure, and the examples presented do not establish that either approach will produce the same results at larger scale.
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Two Models, Different Structures
The article contrasts a network model with a school-wide design. CAPS brings professional projects into participating high school programs across a broad geographic area. CSST, by contrast, is a single public school working with local employers, university partners and community organizations. Its stated design responds in part to demand for talent in Colorado Springs’ aerospace, cybersecurity, defense and technology sectors and to the goal of giving local students access to those opportunities.
At CSST, Mondays are reserved for “sprints,” when students work with professionals outside their regular classes. Examples in the article include time in a university engineering lab with a retired engineer, programming instruction from an entrepreneur, and projects on smart cities. The school also received the highest School Performance Framework score in District 11 in its first year, according to the article; that measure includes academic achievement, growth and readiness for college and the workforce.
The article also cites a 2025 CAPS alumni study conducted with the University of Northern Iowa’s Strategic Marketing Services. It received more than 1,200 responses. Graduates gave their post-program confidence an average rating of 4.84 out of 5 and reported growth in collaboration, professional communication, project management, and understanding their strengths and interests. These are survey findings reported in the opinion article, not an independent comparison of program outcomes.
“The question is no longer whether career-connected learning will grow, but what kind of experiences that growth will create.”
— The opinion article’s authors
Questions About Scale and Evidence
The article presents the programs as works in progress and does not establish whether their outcomes can be reproduced across entire districts or states. Providing sustained employer access to a few dozen students differs from doing so at a much larger scale. The source also does not provide a long-term comparison showing whether participants have better employment or education outcomes than students who did not take part.
It remains unclear how many partners schools would need to offer meaningful experiences to more students, how educators can find time to develop and supervise those relationships, and how schools should measure less tangible results such as self-knowledge. The article’s account of CSST’s performance score and student retention does not, by itself, show that its career-connected model caused those results.
Building Partnerships and Measuring Results
The article identifies the next challenge as developing enough employer and community partnerships to offer substantive experiences at a wider scale, while giving educators and school leaders the time to organize them. It does not announce a specific expansion plan, new funding decision or evaluation schedule for either initiative.
As career-connected learning grows, schools will continue to track measures such as internships, credentials and job placements. The authors say programs should also examine what students learn about their strengths, the professional relationships they form and the value of work they complete before graduation. Whether those measures can be applied consistently across different schools remains unresolved.
Key Questions
What are the two initiatives described in the article?
The article discusses the CAPS Network, which connects students with professional projects through programs in 32 states, and Colorado Springs School of Technology, a public school that builds professional experiences into its educational model.
How many students does the CAPS Network reach?
The article says CAPS reaches more than 15,000 young people through roughly 140 high school programs in 32 states.
What is distinctive about CSST’s approach?
CSST reserves Mondays for “sprints,” when students engage with professionals outside regular classes. Activities described include engineering, programming and smart-cities projects.
Do the examples prove that career-connected learning improves employment outcomes?
No. The article offers examples and reports survey findings, but does not provide a long-term comparison establishing that either program improves employment outcomes relative to other students.
What challenges remain for expanding these programs?
The article points to the need for enough partners to provide meaningful experiences at scale and for educators and school leaders to have time to develop those partnerships. It also leaves open how schools should measure outcomes such as students’ understanding of their interests and strengths.
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