Pomona Unified staff propose making two‑year CTE completion a graduation pathway to boost College & Career Indicator

District staff presented a proposal May 7 asking the Pomona Unified School District Board of Education to consider changing high school graduation requirements so that completion of a two‑year Career Technical Education pathway would more consistently qualify students as "college and career ready" on the California School Dashboard.

The presentation, led by Luis Rodriguez (College and Career Readiness) with program administrator Monique Cardenas, said the change would align graduation requirements with California’s College and Career indicators and increase the district’s Dashboard results without reducing students’ access to electives or A–G college eligibility.

Why it matters: Under California’s Dashboard, college and career readiness is measured by multiple indicators. Pomona Unified staff said many of the district’s students currently meet college readiness through A–G course completion, while relatively few meet the career readiness indicator through CTE completion. The proposal would increase the required CTE credit minimum from one year (10 credits) to two years (20 credits) or reallocate elective credits so students would finish a pathway.

Monique Cardenas defined CTE in the presentation: "CTE is a two‑year pathway for high school students. It's a program that helps students explore careers, build real world skills, and prepare for college and the workforce." She described CTE as an introductory class followed by a concentrator and a capstone (the two‑year sequence required for the career readiness indicator).

District data cited in the presentation: the 2024 Dashboard for Pomona Unified showed roughly 33.1% of students classified as "prepared" for college and career, 18% "approaching" and 48.9% "not prepared." Rodriguez said 85.4% of the students labeled "prepared" met that status because they completed A–G coursework; only about 5.3 percentage points of the prepared group met prepared through completion of a CTE pathway.

The main options laid out to the board were: (1) move 10 elective credits into the CTE requirement to create a 20‑credit CTE graduation requirement while retaining a 40‑credit elective minimum; or (2) replace standalone Health and Technology requirements with a year of CTE to free space in the schedule for a second year of pathway coursework.

Board members raised operational questions and equity concerns during the presentation. Board member Jimenez asked whether students who take four years of band or music would lose those opportunities; staff replied that the district sets an elective minimum (presenters said 50 elective credits is current baseline) and students who take more electives would not be blocked from continuing music or arts. Staff also described existing waiver options for students who meet other postsecondary indicators (AP, dual enrollment, A–G completion) and noted multiple pathways to complete CTE (zero‑period, after‑school, summer offerings and ROP partnerships at offsite venues such as Fairplex).

Board members asked about sequencing and counseling supports. Cardenas said counselors prepare four‑year plans that schedule students into introductory CTE coursework early; the district plans to retain waivers for students whose coursework already demonstrates college and career readiness.

No formal action was taken on May 7. The staff framed the presentation as a proposal for the board to consider and asked direction for next steps; implementation would require board approval of revised graduation requirements and follow‑up work on course offerings, staffing and counseling support.

Ending note: District staff said an expanded CTE graduation requirement could raise Pomona Unified’s College & Career Dashboard measure by capturing students who are already A–G complete but not otherwise meeting the career readiness indicator; board members asked staff to return with more detail about sequencing, counselor capacity, teacher staffing and impacts on extracurricular programs.