Every student deserves a clear path to a fulfilling career, no matter where they live or go to school. The Career Pathways program of Campus Without Walls (www.campuswithoutwalls.org) creates a sought-after bridge between our Massachusetts high school students and their future careers.

Increasingly, research and feedback involving students, parents, and educators have revealed the value to students when schools provide exposure to potential careers. As recently reported in an Education Week series entitled “High School Handoff,” educators and policy makers are increasingly challenged to meet that need.

Career Pathways is an exciting, accessible and cost-effective answer. Campus Without Walls reimagines public education by connecting schools, educators, and industry partners across Massachusetts. Through a live, virtual, credit-bearing course exchange paired with real-world, work-based learning, CWW enables students to access advanced coursework, industry-designed modules, and authentic employer engagement, regardless of their zip code or school. Our guiding statement is simple and bold: One State – One Classroom – Endless Possibilities.

Campus Without Walls and its Career Pathways program enable students to remain in their home schools while Zooming live into courses taught by the state’s best educators and earning credit toward graduation, while teachers gain meaningful leadership opportunities, and districts expand their variety of course offerings to meet students’ passions and interests.

CWW courses cover in-demand fields and innovative topics such as Green Chemistry, Spanish for Healthcare, Phlebotomy Certification, Biotechnology, Robotics, and Entrepreneurship.

The Career Pathways program benefits students and schools by:

Providing access to advanced and industry-aligned coursework;

Enabling cross-school collaboration and shared projects;

Connecting students directly with employers and real-world experience;

Fostering autonomy in pursuing courses aligned with personal interests.

As part of this initiative, Career Pathways has developed “mini-module” course offerings in collaboration with industry partners. These mini-modules bring real-world expertise directly into the classroom. Industry professionals Zoom into teacher-led classes to provide live, interactive instruction, enhancing the curriculum with practical, career-focused learning experiences. This model ensures that students gain exposure to high-demand industries while remaining fully supported by their classroom teachers.

The specialized Career Pathways mini-modules provided by industry partners to enrich the classroom experience include:

Harvard MedScience – “Mission: Diagnosis – A 3-Day Shift in the ER”

Emmanuel College – “Life on You: Microbes, Medicine & Mind”

Certified Financial Advisor (CFA) Society – “Investing 101: Smart Money Moves for Teens”

Citizens Bank – “Financial Literacy & Career Pathways in Banking”

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) – “Next Level Startup”

Franklin Cummings Technical Institute – “Intro to Cyber Security”

Digital Ready – “Digital Skills for the Modern Workforce”

In the 2026-27 school year, CWW will launch its pilot phase with ten schools across six districts, stretching from the heart of Boston to Western Massachusetts. That launch builds upon years of development that offered professional development for educators and built school-to-industry partnerships.

The schools participating in the pilot are: Codman Academy Charter/Public School; Collaboration for Educational Services; Frontier Regional High School; Greater Egleston High School (Boston Public Schools); Hadley Public Schools (Hopkins Academy); Holland Tech (Boston Public Schools); Innovation Academy Charter School; New Mission High School (Boston Public Schools); Phoenix Charter Academy Network (Chelsea and Springfield); and Tech Boston Academy (Boston Public Schools).

Liberty Mutual Foundation recently awarded a Collaborative Impact planning grant to Campus Without Walls, Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), and Boston Private Industry Council (PIC) to scale the virtual Career Pathways model across Greater Boston for high school students and young adults ages 16-24, ensuring broader access to career-aligned learning. They call this citywide initiative Workforce Innovation through Remote Education or WIRE.

Past and present CWW funders include the Redstone Family Foundation, The Boston Foundation, Liberty Mutual Foundation, New Schools Venture Fund, Trefler Foundation, Eastern Bank Foundation, Cabot Charitable Trust, American Student Assistance Foundation (ASA), Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Nellie Mae Education Foundation, Britebound, Outschool, and Advancing Evidence, Improving Lives.

Ronald L. Walker II is Interim Director & Strategic Advisor, Campus Without Walls and CEO, The Walker Group. He developed and oversees the Career Pathways program. Walker is former Massachusetts Secretary of Labor & Workforce Development in the Charlie Baker administration. He brings to CWW decades of experience in banking, finance and advancing education, innovation, economic growth, and equity. He is committed to ensuring that every student has access to a pathway that aligns with their interests and career aspirations.

 

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