As part of the Horizons 32K strategic plan to improve outcomes for opportunity youth across Los Angeles County, UNITE‑LA is advancing efforts to strengthen the transition from high school into college, training and employment for students in Los Angeles' alternative education system. In February, alongside the Britebound Center for Career Navigation at Jobs for the Future (JFF) and LAUSD, UNITE‑LA convened K–12, community college and workforce leaders to improve career navigation for students completing high school in non-traditional settings. LAUSD's Options division serves more than 9,000 students across 60 sites, including continuation high schools, virtual academies and community day schools for expelled students.

A dynamic student panel highlighted the potential of smaller learning environments, such as continuation schools, showing how personalized instruction, flexibility and supportive relationships help students rebuild confidence, belonging and purpose. Participants also explored how recent legislation through AB 542 can accelerate this work by allowing continuation schools to offer youth workforce development programs for credit, expanding access to work-based learning, industry-aligned training and smoother transitions into college and employment.

The convening also catalyzed a new partnership between UNITE-LA and LAUSD Options to better support financial aid completion and college affordability for students enrolled in continuation high schools. On site, hands-on support was provided to 10 continuation schools to meet the state's March 2 financial aid priority deadline. Building on this work, UNITE‑LA is now planning a comprehensive strategy that will address summer melt and establish a systematized, year-round college access and affordability strategy for the 2026–27 academic year, strengthening transitions into postsecondary pathways across continuation schools.

Together, these early efforts aim to move the region toward a shared vision where continuation schools are reimagined as launchpads and opportunity to access meaningful, career-connected pathways.

For more information, please reach out to Jenny Vu, Director of Education Systems Strategy, at [email protected].