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District 113 gains state approval for five career pathways; cybersecurity course to start this fall
Summary
The District’s Career Education Pathways Committee described new pathway approvals from the Illinois State Board of Education, outlined endorsement requirements and said a cybersecurity pathway (seven AP sections) will launch in fall 2025.
District 113 told the board on April 22 that it received Illinois State Board of Education approval for five college-and-career pathways and outlined next steps for implementation, including launching an AP-based cybersecurity pathway this fall.
The Career Education Pathways Committee described the state endorsement process and the student requirements for a pathway endorsement: a two-year course sequence that includes at least six early-college credits (AP or dual-credit), two career-exploration activities, two team-based challenges and a minimum of 60 supervised work-based learning hours over a student’s high school career. Endorsements are affixed to diplomas as seals issued by the Illinois State Board of Education.
District staff said District 113 applied for and received approval for five pathways (the presentation listed the five approved pathways) and said the cybersecurity pathway will begin in fall 2025 with seven sections of AP Cybersecurity offered across both Highland Park and Deerfield high schools. Staff also noted that students who attend the Lake County Tech campus will continue to have endorsement opportunities in programs such as nursing, early education and culinary arts.
The committee recommended building community partnerships with local businesses, government agencies and other organizations to provide the supervised work-based experiences students must complete for endorsement. The committee also recommended district- and building-level oversight for coordination across human resources, transportation, curriculum and student services and indicated that data for each endorsement will be tracked in the district analytics platform (Maya Learning) and reported to the state.
Board members asked procedural questions about student opt-in, counselor involvement and parental outreach; staff said career exploration begins in freshman advisory, students take interest inventories in Maya Learning and counselors guide pathway selection. Staff flagged that implementing pathways at scale requires staffing and coordinated community partnerships, and said they intend to start community outreach for internships and employer partners in the coming months.
No vote was required on the informational pathway update; staff said additional pathway submissions may follow after course alignment between the two high schools is finalized.
