Efforts to prepare students for college and careers are taking hold earlier and earlier, expanding beyond high school so that even students in primary grades are participating in university tours and job exploration events.

In Long Beach Unified, 4^th– and 5^th-graders take annual field trips to college campuses and spend class time talking about university entrance requirements, life aspirations and financial aid programs.

The kindergarten-through-6^th-grade classrooms at Katherine Smith Elementary School in San Jose “adopt” a college and participate every Monday in a schoolwide assembly that culminates in chants where students show off their college pride.

And Metro Ed in San Jose, one of the oldest regional occupational education programs in the state, is introducing new programs this year for middle school students intended to introduce them to careers in Silicon Valley’s rich STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math.

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