Our Direction
Design Science High School is working hard to be different. Students entering DSHS should expect to work hard, be held to high expectations, embrace an accelerated curriculum, and succeed. Staff members will work side-by-side with students to ensure student success. Our goal is 100% graduation, from high school and college.
Currently, there is widespread acknowledgement of the need for new models of secondary education in Fresno. Fresno Unified School District is working hard to make sure all students are successful. DSHS is an example of that committment to create Career-Ready Graduates. Our focus is preparing students not only for college success but for success in the real world as well.
Despite the long-term challenge of unemployment, one of the emerging bright spots in the regional economy is the building and construction-related sector. According to the Fresno Regional Jobs Initiative (RJI), a high-level, public-private collaborative formed to address the economic development needs of the region, Fresno has a unique opportunity to build a"home-grown" higher-skill, higher-wage workforce in the building-related professions. In its final report, the RJI Task Force has declared:
Both private and public investment are driving construction in the region with rapid growth in housing, as well as state and local infrastructure investment. The retirement of highly skilled workers, together with this increase in construction activity, creates the need to recruit and train new workers to meet shortages . . . The building and construction trades [and related professions] offer an opportunity for career paths from entry-level to higher-level occupations . . . A new partnership among business, unions, government, and education is required [to align the education and workforce development system with these opportunities] . . .
The estimated building design and construction related employment in 2003 for the Fresno metropolitan area is 19,100 jobs. By 2008, the sector is projected to grow to 25,000, a net job growth rate of nearly 30%. To meet this emerging need, the Regional Jobs Initiative has recommended the strengthening of education and workforce training programs related to building and design, and the closer alignment of high school and college programs with the needs of employers. In initial meetings regarding the Design Science High School, employers articulated three priority needs:
- High-wage focus: Youth education and training must focus on high-wage, high-skill occupational areas, not merely on entry-level or journeyman positions.
- Inter-segmental alignment: The school should provide close curricular and program articulation with both Community College and university-level programs .
- Integration of hands-on and theoretical approaches: Students should gain both hands-on construction experience and an understanding of the fundamentals of architecture, engineering, and sustainable design.
As the curriculum plan makes clear, Design Science High School has created a series of career pathway options for students (focused on construction management, engineering, and architecture) that lead, in all cases, to higher-wage, higher-skill career opportunities.