Who We Are

Our Story

In the Fall of 2019, the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in collaboration with the Cleveland Foundation launched a design process called Linking Students to Career Pathways and Living Wage Jobs (Linking Students). Linking Students aims to address the challenge of ensuring all CMSD students graduate from high school with a career goal and route to achieve it. Over 18 months, 100 individuals, 40 organizations, and 70 employers were organized into two phases. Phase1, focus on problem identification and learning, which concluded with a set of actionable recommendations, and phase 2, translate the recommendations into action.

The recommendations were then organized into two pillars:

Pillar 1: Create a structured, student-centered approach to career exploration, active planning, and decision-making, or Planning and Career Exploration.

In November 2021 the Cleveland Metropolitan School District launched the Planning and Career Exploration (PACE) framework for all 6-12th students.

Pillar 2: Establish a consortium of multi-sector partners critical to coordinating, implementing, aligning, and sustaining the effort.

In 2022, the Greater Cleveland Career Consortium (GCCC), a group of public, private, education, and non-profit organizations was formed. This collective impact organization works together to help every student in the region design a career plan that aligns with their interests and skills. The GCCC partners with school districts to include self-awareness and career-based learning opportunities for all students during the school day and connect employers with local school districts, students, and families to help build our regional workforce.