Lazaro Lopez spent the decade after barely graduating from high school feeling lost.
He spent some time in the Army. He worked as a real estate agent. He conducted new-hire training for American Airlines.
He tried to figure out where he belonged.
It wasn鈥檛 until his late 20s that Lopez realized the common thread in the jobs he鈥檇 been drawn to: teaching. He decided to go to college to get a degree in education. At almost 30, he began as an English teacher at John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights, Ill.
鈥淚 did not have navigators or mentors or the context for me to explore what鈥檚 possible or for me to even know that I should go to college,鈥� said Lopez, who was the first in his family to graduate from college.
His parents, who emigrated from Cuba to Florida, only spoke Spanish. It wasn鈥檛 until Lopez was held back in 2nd grade that a teacher took the time to help him learn English. By the time he graduated high school with a 1.6 GPA, he was living on his own and working to support himself.
Now, Lopez, 57, is the associate superintendent overseeing curriculum and instruction for Township High School District 214 outside Chicago. He鈥檚 made it his mission to make sure none of its 12,000 students feel lost after high school graduation.
Early on in his career as an educator, Lopez, a 2025 EdWeek Leaders To Learn From honoree, was determined to increase the value of a high school diploma. He wanted to create a system in which students could explore and pursue their career interests through challenging coursework and individualized work-based learning experiences, all with the goal of graduating armed with information about their path forward.
His decade-plus work on a framework he calls 鈥渃ollege-ready by design鈥� at one of the largest high school districts in Illinois is paying off.
In the 2023-24 school year, 84 percent of the district鈥檚 graduating students earned early college credits, with 65 percent earning at least eight credit hours. That same year, 59 percent of juniors and seniors participated in an internship and/or apprenticeship.
By contrast, fewer than a quarter of 11th and 12th graders nationally participated in dual-enrollment or dual-credit programs during the 2020-21 school year, according to the most recent data available from the National Center for Education Statistics.
This work has become a top priority for District 214 over the years, said Superintendent Scott Rowe.
鈥淭he entire system is built to guide [students] in pursuit of what they say they鈥檙e interested in,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 to Laz鈥檚 credit.鈥�
The district is a national model for creating coherence among high school, college, and industry, said Kyle Hartung, the associate vice president in education practice at Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit that focuses on education and workforce alignment.
Lopez 鈥渄eeply understands and believes in what this work is all about and why it鈥檚 critical,鈥� he said.
69传媒 explore core academics through a career-oriented lens
Lopez鈥檚 push to transform how District 214 prepares students for college and careers began in 2007 when he became the principal of Wheeling High, one of the district鈥檚 six comprehensive high schools.
About a year after stepping into a school leadership role, 鈥淟az came to me with his vision for a complete redesign of the entire school,鈥� said David Schuler, the District 214 superintendent at the time and now the executive director of AASA, the School Superintendents Association. 鈥淔rom my perspective, what he was doing was only going to be beneficial to the students, the families, and the staff at Wheeling, so why would I say anything other than 鈥榞o for it鈥�?鈥�
Lopez鈥檚 idea was to create a career pathways program to help students explore careers, while earning early college credit, industry credentials, and work-based learning experiences.
The effort put District 214 at the vanguard of a national trend. At the time, career academy models were gaining steam, but it wasn鈥檛 until around 2011 that the more systematic approaches to career-connected learning that spanned high school and postsecondary came into the forefront, Hartung said.
In District 214, students don鈥檛 take just the core classes required for graduation, such as English and math. In fact, the district鈥檚 showcases career-specific electives as prominently as possible so students can immediately connect what they鈥檙e learning in core subjects to the real world.
When he introduced the concept of career pathways, some teachers were worried that it would mean less focus on traditional academics, Lopez said. He explained the approach as another way for students to look at their English, math, science, and social studies classes through the lens of the pathway they鈥檝e picked, making those subjects more relevant to them.
Here鈥檚 an example of how it works: Ayana Solaka, a 12th grade student at Wheeling High School with dreams of becoming a surgeon, is in the pre-med pathway. Back in 9th grade, she started with a course called Intro to Health Care 1. In 10th grade, she took the second part of Intro to Health Care, as well as a class on medical terminology. In 11th grade, she took a college nursing assistant training course; at the end of the year, she took an exam to be a certified nursing assistant or CNA.
Now in 12th grade, she has a credit-bearing internship with Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill., putting her CNA training to use. After high school, she plans to attend a four-year university to double major in public health and neuroscience. Then it鈥檚 on to medical school.
Fully implementing a pathway takes about three to five years, according to Lopez.
Before launching a particular pathway, the district considers a host of issues: Will students want to participate? Can the district find qualified teachers? What about higher education and industry partners? The district also needs to determine what the pathway sequence should look like, what college coursework could complement it, and what the internship or apprenticeship opportunities would be.
As principal at Wheeling, Lopez started with a manufacturing pathway. From there, he and his staff at the school created pathways for health care, research, business, and law.
When Lopez became associate superintendent in 2013, he started working on scaling the pathways throughout the entire district. Today, there are 40 career pathways districtwide that students can choose from. The most popular are engineering, business, and health sciences.
Starting when they鈥檙e freshmen, students are asked by guidance counselors what pathways interest them, and then their high school experience is tailored around that interest. 69传媒 can change their minds and switch pathways every semester or every year. 69传媒 aren鈥檛 required to pick a pathway, but more than 90 percent choose to do so, Lopez said. Undecided students still receive career exploration experiences.
鈥淭he goal isn鈥檛 that we think you鈥檙e going to figure out what you鈥檙e going to do for the rest of your life,鈥� Lopez said. Instead, the district seeks to give students the tools they need to 鈥渕ake more informed decisions about the next stage鈥� after graduation.
But some students feel like there鈥檚 an emphasis on following and finishing their pathway, said Ayana, who is on a student committee that provides feedback on district programs. 69传媒 might not feel like they could take an elective outside their pathway just for fun, she said.
鈥淵ou can switch the pathway, but there鈥檚 almost, like, a need to finish the pathway,鈥� Ayana said. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 finish the pathway, it kind of just feels like unfinished business. That鈥檚 how students feel about it. Some of them just want to explore rather than complete it, but they feel the need to complete it.鈥�
The way the pathways are advertised in the academic handbook leads students to assume that they鈥檙e supposed to follow the sequence. They feel they can鈥檛 deviate from it, she said.
69传媒 are not expected to stay in a pathway and are encouraged to explore, and a majority of 9th and 10th graders do change pathways, Lopez said. But some pathway teachers might encourage students to finish because of the potential benefits; a pathway endorsement on an Illinois high school diploma could lead to scholarships, for example.
鈥榃orth a million dollars to our community鈥�
Part of Lopez鈥檚 鈥渃ollege-ready by design鈥� framework is providing students with opportunities to earn early college credit, including through a dual-credit program, so they can get a head start on their postsecondary career and save money on college tuition or workforce training
Beyond serving as associate superintendent in District 214, Lopez is also the chair of the Illinois Community College Board and has a seat on the state鈥檚 higher education board. He has also worked with state lawmakers on strengthening the connections between high school, college, and the workforce. Lopez expanded the dual-credit program at District 214 with the help of those connections.
The district partners with seven higher education institutions in and near Cook County, Ill., to provide more than 60 college-level courses that any student can take while in high school if they鈥檝e met the prerequisites. Prior to the expansion, the dual-credit opportunities were limited to career and technical education students, Lopez said.
Lopez worked with state policymakers to make sure every community college has the same placement standards. Whether a student takes a college-level course through a dual-credit program or at a community college or university, credit is guaranteed. Lopez pushed to ensure that students who scored a 3 or above on a College Board Advanced Placement exam will receive corresponding college credit in every public institution in Illinois.
鈥淭hat really is worth millions of dollars to our community,鈥� Lopez said.
Lopez鈥檚 redesign of the district鈥檚 college- and career-readiness system also includes the creation of the Center for Career Discovery, an office dedicated to ensuring every junior and senior in the district has work-based learning experiences, such as a 30-hour or 60-hour credit-bearing internship or a full-year paid apprenticeship.
The center, founded in 2016, acts like a matchmaking service, with staff dedicated to calling employers, screening students, and setting up and preparing students for interviews.
鈥淲e feel pretty strongly that coursework is only a component of that [career exploration] journey,鈥� said Barb Kain, the director of the center. 鈥淥nce they鈥檝e identified a career area or areas that are interesting based on coursework they鈥檝e taken, we give students the opportunity to participate in an internship in an authentic setting, meeting connections in the industry, to see if it really feels like something they could see themselves doing.鈥�
69传媒 who take the first few health-care pathway classes might find those courses interesting, for example, but when they do an internship at a hospital, they might realize they can鈥檛 handle the sight of blood, Kain said. For other students, the work-based learning experience can cement their interest in a career.
One of the challenges is ensuring all students who want an internship or apprenticeship are placed with an employer, Lopez said.
The center has been able to meet the demand, facilitating experiences for more than 3,000 students annually, with the help of more than 1,500 employer partners. But it requires constant recruitment and management of potential hosts, Lopez said. Sometimes, the district struggles with placing students, especially if they鈥檙e younger than 18, because employers are concerned about liability.
Lopez and his team work hard on marketing the internship and apprenticeship programs to potential employers.
鈥淚 do a lot of public speaking, and my message to employers is: 80 percent of the students that are in our high schools right now are going to be coming back to this community,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you invest your time and energy in them, you鈥檙e investing in our community鈥檚 economic future and development.鈥�
Lopez and his staff also let the results do the talking. As one employer has a positive experience with a District 214 intern or apprentice, word spreads to others in the community, Lopez said.
Heidi Weiner, the vice president and human resources manager of plastic-manufacturing company Demgy Chicago, said she鈥檚 been impressed with the students the district sends.
The apprentice her company had last year is now a full-time employee. The student currently in the role is also strong. If 鈥測ou give him a project, he just takes it and runs with it,鈥� Weiner said.
The students 鈥渉elp bring fresh eyes鈥� to what the company is doing, she said. They also 鈥渂ring an energy鈥� to the business because the staff enjoys 鈥渋mparting their knowledge,鈥� Weiner added
鈥淚 feel like we won the lottery with both of our apprentices,鈥� Weiner said. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e really enhanced our business.鈥�
For students with the most significant disabilities, the district has a Vocational Lab, where students can explore their interests and develop job skills so they can find employment after graduation. One example is Forest Brew, a coffee shop in one of the district鈥檚 specialized schools that serves employees, where students with disabilities operate the cash register and make lattes. Most students with Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs, are provided independent and embedded work-based learning experiences, Lopez said.
For Lopez, preparing students for college and careers is 鈥渟imply a strategy for engagement.鈥� By making what students are learning relevant to their interests and their future, they鈥檙e more likely to come to school, he said.
Some students show up to class because they want to play football, some because they鈥檙e in band or choir, and others because of a teacher, Lopez said. Now, a career pathway could be a student鈥檚 lever of engagement.
Ayana, the 12th grade student in the pre-med pathway, said she never really hated school, but her pathway classes 鈥渕ade school more fun.鈥�
鈥淚 enjoyed going to these classes because it related to something that I wanted to do and it was something that I was interested in,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 want to miss the class.鈥�
鈥楳ore powerful to drive your own ship鈥�
The work to redesign the high school experience hasn鈥檛 come without challenges for Lopez.
鈥淚t has been a career-long process鈥� of trying to get buy-in from staff and the community, of building pathways from the ground up, of reallocating resources and funding, Lopez said. 鈥淲hat began as a single pathway in one school has grown beyond what I ever imagined, thanks to the shared vision and tireless dedication of our teachers, district staff, and school leaders.鈥�
After more than two decades, Lopez is still motivated by his mission to ensure students don鈥檛 feel unmoored after graduation, especially in a rapidly evolving economy.
鈥淚 used to tell my students, 鈥業f you choose nothing, then the world is going to take you where it takes you. Isn鈥檛 it much more powerful if you drive your own ship and guide your own path, so that you can actively make those choices, as opposed to the world making the choices for you?鈥欌�� Lopez said.
鈥淒iscover your future鈥� isn鈥檛 just District 214鈥檚 tagline, said Lopez. 鈥淚t鈥檚 real.鈥�
