The San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) has recently partnered with USD’s Jacobs Institute for Innovation and Education to develop an innovative learning space where industry and students can tinker in and collaborate on projects and challenges. Education to Employment Lab (E2E) combines the concepts of a makerspace, learning lab, and classroom. By reimagining what learning looks like, E2E offers 30 different workshops to help students develop their self-efficacy, self-esteem, and mindsets as they discover their own strengths, interests, and values.
In an effort to prepare students for life after graduation from high school, SDUSD plans to open several E2E labs at high schools across the district. The first site, located at Kearny Education Complex opened its doors to students in September and had an official grand opening on March 19, 2018. E2E Coordinator, Candice Fee; SDUSD Superintendent Cindy Marten; Executive Director of the Jacobs Institute, Dr. Heather Lattimer; USD’s Dean of Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, Dr. Chell Roberts; and Kearny student and E2E intern Adrian Torres spoke, highlighting their collaboration and the effect it has had on student achievement. The ribbon cutting was well attended by Area Superintendent Kimmie Lochtefeld, Kearny cluster administration, community members, industry partners, Kearny teachers, students, and parents.
The mission of the lab is to bridge the gap between education and employment through hands-on experiences connected to the world of work. Serving the Kearny community, E2E has worked with several industry partners including Booz Allen and Hamilton, the USS Midway, Cal Coast Credit Union, Junior Achievement, Metugo, Urban League, San Diego River Park Foundation, Upward Bound, Brandiose, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and SAY San Diego; post-secondary partners such as UCSD, USD, CSUSM, and Mesa College; engaged students in all four small schools on the Kearny campus in over 4,000 experiences; and provided internships to 102 students, 20 of which were paid through a collaborative effort with San Diego Workforce Partnership. The E2E effort has only just begun and will continue to make the impossible possible as it transforms the way we view education.
