As middle and high school students move through K-12 education toward graduation, they need guidance and durable skills to help them engage in school today and find their future path for tomorrow. For too many students, school feels irrelevant and disconnected from real life experiences, leading to a lack of preparation at best – and disengagement, chronic absenteeism, and dropouts at worst.

Schools and businesses want to help, but often lack the capacity and infrastructure to connect students with experiences and expertise. Schools want and need to prepare students for college and career, but struggle to integrate these opportunities into their existing offerings. Businesses want to engage with the community and to help cultivate the next generation’s skills – if only they are given the opportunity.

By connecting middle and high school students with durable skills through personalized career exploration as well as hands-on experiences alongside trusted industry mentors, the Magnolia Project engages and prepares middle and high school students for their meaningful next phase after K-12 – whether that is college or career.

The Magnolia Project is a simple, cost-effective way of engaging middle and high school students and preparing them for their meaningful next phase after K-12, through relevant career exploration curriculum and hands-on experiences with trusted industry mentors that deliver durable skills.

The Magnolia Project serves as a bridge between schools and the business community – and between students’ present education and their future.

Schools: Magnolia Project partners with schools and districts to embed career exploration and apprenticeship pathways into the school day and year for middle and high school students. Housed on our custom-built technology platform, Magnolia’s curriculum helps students to discover the passions, industries, and careers that are exciting for them and to develop a plan for their meaningful next phase.

Businesses: Magnolia Project cultivates relationships with local businesses and industry mentors who are eager to engage our youth and build a future pipeline for their workforce. Magnolia provides upfront training and ongoing support that makes it easy and rewarding for trusted industry mentors to guide students through hands-on experiences.