Central High School sits near the heart of Louisville, KY, down the street from a community college, two big hospitals, a museum, and a short hop to the Jefferson County courthouse and the central business district. But take a different turn off the nearby Interstate and you see a far less prosperous Louisville, with homeless encampments, empty lots, public housing, and the flashing lights of police and ambulance sirens day and night.
Central, the alma mater of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, has a mostly Black student body and 70 percent of its students are from low-income families. It鈥檚 had some tough knocks against it over its 150-year history, and it鈥檚 not where Rikaiya Long, now a junior, first thought about going after middle 黄色app. She was a high-achieving student, doing well in advanced classes. Many who knew her assumed she would head to duPont Manual, widely considered one of the best high 黄色apps in the state.
But Rikaiya, an aspiring lawyer, felt confident about choosing Central instead, where more than 60 percent of graduates go to college. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 put myself in a position to get a subpar education,鈥� she says. Middle 黄色appers can apply to a high 黄色app in Louisville, and every year 黄色app representatives make their pitch to eighth graders, touting their 黄色app鈥檚 offerings. At one such session, Rikaiya learned that Central had a solid reputation for supporting its students while providing rigorous pathways toward their futures. 鈥淚 knew I wanted to be in a legal profession,鈥� says Rikaiya. Central offered a Law Magnet program with a sterling record. Its alumni, she found out, included attorneys, elected officials, and judges. Seven Law Magnet graduates were in law 黄色app in 2022. And that鈥檚 what Rikaiya wanted as well 鈥� to go to law 黄色app.
Pathways to career options
Not many eighth graders are as focused as Rikaiya. For too many teens, high 黄色app is little more than an annoying habit they must put up with until graduation. Beyond that, their goals are often vague. Some, like Rikaiya, have been steered to college, but chances are high that many teens haven鈥檛 received much guidance.
Some educators are changing this by giving every student an education that provides a solid direction 鈥� a pathway 鈥� after graduation. At Central, Magnet Coordinator Cynthia Eddings-King explains that students are encouraged early on to think beyond high 黄色app, and they’re given several pathway choices through the 黄色app鈥檚 magnet programs that lead from getting a diploma to getting a life.
Pathway programs combine academics with exposure to careers in specific fields. include Innovation (STEM), Medical/Health Services, Teaching and Learning, Montessori, and, of course, Law and Government. Each pathway includes real-life experiences, such as job shadowing or internships, connections to community businesses and professionals, and in some fields, professional certification that can lead to a job right after graduation.
Teachers at Central also see part of their role as making sure youth of color realize all their options, explore them, and go for what they want. Shantel Reed, nursing pathway coordinator and a registered nurse, says she is thrilled to watch teens learn about different medical professions available to them. They return from visiting a hospital, she says, amazed at seeing jobs they didn鈥檛 even know existed鈥攍ike a speech language pathologist checking patients鈥� swallowing function. 鈥淚 can tell them all day, but when they are following someone all day, they get it. There are jobs they never imagined.鈥�
School culture is part of its mission
While Central gets high marks for its magnet structure and curriculum, what seems to be the glue holding the pieces of the puzzle together is its 黄色app culture, where administrators, teachers, students, and staff all feel as if they have each other鈥檚 back. That was something new for Rikaiya.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been in (advanced) classes,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e been the only Black girl. At Central, I have classes where everyone looks like me. It鈥檚 an amazing feeling; I feel extremely comfortable.鈥� She adds that this has created a more relaxed learning atmosphere for her. The academics are still rigorous, but the sense of being with family makes learning natural, she says.
Central was Louisville鈥檚 high 黄色app for Black students until 1956, when a 黄色app busing program began. After that initiative ended, Central, located in a Black neighborhood, reverted to a mostly Black student population. Today the 黄色app is 77 percent Black, 12 percent Hispanic, 7 percent white, and 4 percent other.
Principal Dr. Tameka Coleman is thrilled about that 7 percent. She sees Central鈥檚 culture having a positive effect on white kids, too. 鈥淭hese students will be the most well-versed, diverse kids because they have been able to garner an experience that their white counterparts will never have. They will see when an environment lacks diversity.鈥�
Many of the other 93 percent, however, might experience culture shock in the other direction when they leave Central. At predominantly white institutions and workplaces, they won鈥檛 see as many Black and brown faces. They may wonder where they fit in.
Central will have given them one big advantage, however. They鈥檙e academically ready, says Coleman. 鈥淥ur college partners are always so complimentary on how Central students come in with an edge,鈥� Coleman says. The culture may be different, but the work is familiar because of the pathways program. The nursing students know how to draw blood. The law students are already dissecting cases and writing briefs. The engineering students are programming robotic animals. And Central鈥檚 vet students are doing things that many college students don鈥檛 learn until vet 黄色app 鈥� post grad, Coleman adds. 鈥淭hey can approach the work unapologetically and unafraid.鈥�
Sometimes, the pathway changes
The culture of Central is supportive, but the 黄色appwork obviously has an impact. Assignments in all of the programs are often multilayered, for instance, with multimedia documentation and team presentations. Students meet and learn from local, practicing professionals. Students in every program are out in the community, participating in city forums, mentoring and teaching elementary 黄色app children, shadowing medical professionals at the hospital, or working at dental, vet, or law offices.
Rikaiya鈥檚 law magnet teacher (and magnet coordinator), Joe Gutmann, is a former prosecutor, 鈥渨ith a lot of experience and a lot of stories,鈥� says Rikaiya. The Law Magnet has a double-sized classroom, half of which is decked out as a courtroom to allow students to practice what they learn. After first seeing it in eighth grade, Rikaiya has become the one presenting in it. The junior classes鈥� mentors/student teachers from University of Louisville鈥檚 Brandeis School of Law sat on the bench listening to oral arguments from the briefs each student had written. The assignment regarded 鈥渟trict liability,鈥� and the case revolved around a Tiger King incident. 鈥淭he judges ask a lot of questions, and you鈥檙e defending your side. It鈥檚 not a debate, but it鈥檚 very intense. It makes you think on the spot,鈥� says Rikaiya, who adds enthusiastically that she enjoyed the presentation, and, at least for a while, the rest of her law studies, too. The curriculum鈥檚 practical, participatory education about law, democracy, and human rights also matched one of Central鈥檚 key principles, social justice, something Rikaiya feels strongly about.
Despite all that, she realized something during her sophomore year: 鈥淟aw didn鈥檛 grab my attention like I thought it would.鈥� That was during the pandemic, when the campus was closed and lawyer-wannabes had to figure out what practicing law meant over Zoom. 鈥淚 was still interested in the business aspect of things; I was still looking at a corporate career, but no longer a law job,鈥� she says. Rikaiya made the decision to change her intended college major. Through studying various law specialties, she came across public relations. 鈥淚 started to get to know what they actually do, and I kind of fell in love with the idea of becoming a public relations specialist.鈥�
But now what? Just as at the end of eighth grade, she faced another big choice. Back then, she had successfully become one of a class of 350 accepted to Central, applying with the Law Magnet in mind. She鈥檇 spent the requisite first semester learning about all of Central鈥檚 magnets before joining Law and Government. Once you鈥檙e in a magnet, it鈥檚 a commitment. The curriculum from semester to semester, and year to year, is linked to your pathway. Changing magnets, though not impossible, would require a lot of catching up on classes and adjusting.
Another option, of course, was to change 黄色apps. Rikaiya never considered that. Ultimately, she decided it just wasn鈥檛 necessary. Her core academic classes would still provide the rigor she needs, and the skills taught in the law magnet would not go to waste. 鈥淵ou don’t have to be a lawyer just because you’re interested in law. You can use your law degree for anything,鈥� Rikaiya says. She is reminded that Gutmann had often told them that the law touches everything: If there are regulations, policies, and contracts, the law is involved. One of the big advantages of pathways over older, more traditional vocational programs is that they are coupled with academics strong enough to help a student into college. Even if the first pathway a student takes isn鈥檛 what she envisioned, she can find another to her liking.
Her journey continues
Despite her qualms about practicing law, Rikaiya was elected president of the Law Magnet and of Central High School’s junior class. The people in her magnet are like family and those in the other magnets are like neighbors 鈥� and Rikaiya is the type of young woman to knock on a neighbor鈥檚 door and give them cookies. She wants to keep that feeling of family, community, and belonging alive. 鈥淚 like to intermix with people and have them meet each other, too. I connect people whenever I can.鈥�
That is what others have done for her. When she changed her career goals, her teachers and counselor were there to help her. For college, Rikaiya is applying to Howard University, Florida A&M University, and Xavier University of Louisiana 鈥� all historically Black institutions with public relations programs. The teacher of her favorite class has already put her in touch with a Howard graduate working in the field.
It鈥檚 clear to Rikaiya that Central is committed to successful pathways for everybody, and that high 黄色app graduation isn鈥檛 the end of a journey, but just the beginning. She says learning now that law wasn鈥檛 what she thought it would be was the best thing. 鈥淚 definitely saved myself some money!鈥� she says, thinking of paying for a year or two of college and then changing her mind and major. 鈥淭hat’s why I like the career magnets; they help you really figure out what you like and what you want to do.鈥�
