CareerConnect Programs

A DPS Career Connect apprenticeship student talks with her mentor in the office

DPS CareerConnect gives students early exposure to thousands of career options as they learn more about their own passions and interests.

We take those interests and nurture them. With access to hundreds of exploration opportunities, students visit work sites in a field they want to know more about and talk to professionals. Students take the skills learned in the classroom and apply them on the job through shadowing, internships and apprenticeship opportunities. Our goal is to help students identify their passions, explore what they love doing and make a career out of it through intentional planning. CareerConnect is a transformative approach to preparing students to be successful in college and their future career, and it’s another way DPS is redesigning the high school experience.

This is learning made real, and your bright future starts here.

9 Career fields offered

Change your mind about a career field? That’s what this is all about. We hear that all the time, and that’s a good thing — it’s what we call progress. Isn’t it better to explore all kinds of careers while in high school — for free — to figure out what you really might like instead of waiting until you’ve paid for tuition in college? Try something on, and if it doesn’t fit, change your mind, again and again.

Medical

Public Safety

Technology

Hospitality

Manufacturing

Education

Business

Engineering

Creative

A CareerConnect student uses virtual reality goggles

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)

Through STEM exploration events and programs beginning in elementary school, students are exposed early to high-opportunity career fields — like mechanical engineering, computer programming and solar energy. Our young scientists learn how to build robots, make moveable pulleys, build structures with pipe cleaners, create bridges and much more. They are learning about the world around them, and having a lot of fun doing it!

Learn more about STEMConnect »

School-based Learning

With a focus on Colorado’s most in-demand industries, DPS offers hundreds of career-related courses at many levels — from introductory all the way to college-level classes. Through engaging, hands-on projects, students learn critical thinking skills and are empowered to generate solutions. Projects encompass real work — from building a graphic design portfolio to dusting objects for fingerprints in forensic science labs.

Students work with their counselor, teachers and parents to take these early sparks of interest and develop them into an Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) — which is their roadmap for their future, and guides course selection while giving them a deeper look at all the steps to plan for each career option.

School-based Learning Programs »

Two high schools students work together in a robotics lab

A JFK high school student poses with his greenhouse project

Work-based Learning

Students take the skills and insights learned in school, and step outside of the classroom to “try on” different careers. DPS offers many on-the-job training opportunities at various levels of depth, with job shadowing, internships and apprenticeships. Some of these opportunities are even paid!

This culture of learning gives students an idea of what employers will expect of them, and what it takes to be successful in college and their career. Students not only expand their professional networks, but can even earn money while learning through paid opportunities.

Work-based Programs »

Greater Access

Thanks to our amazing partners, we serve thousands of students across Denver each year.

18,600 students

each year

61 schools

across the city