Teaching Real-World Readiness
From advanced coursework to life skills, local high schools build the bridge to college and beyond.
High school should serve as an incubator of sorts, a place where students can hone skills, begin to envision their place in the world, and prepare for the day when they leave high school behind. Some high schools strive to do more than just make sure students adjust to the transition to college or wherever life takes them; rather, these schools strive to replicate the college experience as much as possible so students hit the ground running.
“Our program across the board is designed to help students succeed at the next level,” says James Fyke, the principal of La Salle College High School in Wyndmoor. “We’re a college preparatory school, but the breadth and depth of what we get here is equivalent to what [students] might get in a liberal arts college.”
Fyke cites the anecdotal feedback from recent graduates who visit the school to congregate with their peers: “Every Thanksgiving, they come back and gather over the break, and they rave about how prepared they are [for college] compared to some of their peers.”
Their level of preparedness begins with La Salle’s academic programming. The school offers 27 Advanced Placement classes and more than 120 electives, including many honors-level courses. That said, La Salle takes a multipronged approach to helping students explore areas of interest and develop skills in real-world situations. Students receive precise future-focused instruction each year of high school. Freshmen take a professional seminar to help students work on “poise, polish, and professionalism.” Sophomores take effective communication and public speaking. Juniors learn about the U.S. system of governance through an asynchronous civics course. Seniors take a course in financial literacy and investing.
“We’re planting seeds for the longer term,” Fyke adds. “Every freshman takes a technology course so he can have those tech skills. Even if you don’t go into the tech field, you still have that fundamental understanding. That’s the legacy of the [De La Salle] Christian Brothers: What do these guys need to be successful in the future? We talk about it regularly, now and into the future. That’s how the curriculum evolves.”
Recent examples of this evolution include two world-language electives that reflect the increasingly global nature of daily life: Arabic and medical Spanish.
La Salle students spend a lot of time together, not only in classrooms, but also through their involvement in extracurricular and cocurricular programs such as athletics and clubs, as well as travel opportunities, both within the United States and abroad. Fyke describes this closeness as the school’s “secret sauce,” bringing to mind the maxim of iron sharpening iron.
La Salle’s Concentrations program is yet another example of how school prepares students for post-high school life. Founded in 2022, the Concentrations program enables students to realize their purpose in life by taking core courses and electives in one of seven different concentrations: digital media and communication, engineering, global business, information technology, music production, etc. In addition to classwork, students participate in related clubs and activities, create professional portfolios, complete capstone projects, and engage in off-campus internships.
Other schools take a similar approach. Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in Bryn Mawr has three Barrack Institutes—STEAM, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Art—to help upper school students pursue areas of personal interest with an intensive focus on learning, skill development, and real-world readiness. The program begins in ninth grade, when students choose their path, and focus on themed learning and electives for at least two years; they then have the option to continue Institute classes or fulfill graduation requirements through other elective course offerings. Whichever path a student selects, she or he can expect real-world learning experiences that help to create a strong foundation in a field that may significantly shape their future.
Likewise, the Institutes program at Perkiomen School in Pennsburg helps students explore educational paths—and possibly career paths—through projects in which they engage with real-world problems and work through unexpected challenges. Currently, the school’s four institutes are geared around artificial intelligence, design, entrepreneurship, and medicine.
At The Crefeld School in Philadelphia’s Chestnut Hill neighborhood, a program known as Graduation by Exhibition (GBE) helps students grow academically, but also develop essential life skills such as time management, self-advocacy, long-term planning, and the ability to accept and apply feedback. The program requires students to complete 12 projects with the option to complete up to 16 “with distinction.” Through core areas of focus such as formal writing, transition planning, research, self-reflection, and citizenship, this capstone experience serves as both a culmination of their academic work and a preparation for life beyond high school.
Rachel Combs, an 11th and 12th grade science teacher at Crefeld, as well as dean of the school’s summer program, oversees the GBE program. She describes the program as “a really meaningful experience” for students.
“The program helps them feel successful in a number of areas, and it shows them that there are a lot of ways to find joy and success in life,” she adds. “In a lot of exhibitions, students choose something they are interested in—music, art, cooking, programming—and we’re also able to see them work toward competency in areas they may not be as passionate about by finding the support they need.
“We want our graduates to be critical thinkers, to be able to assess the information they’re taking in, and to know how to consult appropriate resources,” she continues. “There’s also a great sense of community here, so students realize they are not the only person in their orbit. Their experiences here help them make connections with other people, and they tend to have a lot of empathy. They learn that they have the power to affect the world.”
Schools’ world-ready efforts include helping students find the best possible match for their choice of college. Kimberley Lewis spent years working in college admissions before coming to Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood. As director of college counseling, she leads a department that includes four full-time college counselors, all of whom came out of college admissions. Their shared goal: to facilitate college-readiness by delivering one-to-one support and grade-level programming.
“These are folks who have read hundreds or thousands of college applications,” Lewis says of her colleagues. “It’s one thing to talk about the process, but it’s very different when you’re engaging with folks who have read the applications and can tell you, ‘This is what you need to make your supplement stronger.’”
The counselors play a key role in making sure Friends’ Central sends each student off to college as “a full person.”
“It starts with academics and having a robust and integrated curriculum, so we want students to be intentional about the courses they’re taking,” she says. “We encourage students to speak up for themselves and get involved, and to give a lot of thought to where they want to be; the fit is academic, financial, and social. It’s not uncommon for students to come back from a [college] visit and say, ‘That school feels like Friends’ Central.’”
Jim Fyke of La Salle believes the programs being adopted by schools like his are making today’s students much better prepared for “what’s next” than previous generations. Considering his own college experience, he wonders if he would have made different choices—more informed choices, better put—if he’d had the same kinds of opportunities in high school that La Salle students currently enjoy.
“I think our guys come out of here as seniors where I was as a sophomore in college,” Fyke says. “What I developed in college, they develop here. We’re giving them the skills they need to succeed but also broad and meaningful experiences that will help them in whatever they do in life. That’s the opportunity they have here; they just have to take the step.”
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, September 2025.
