Award recognizes the district’s focus on eliminating scheduling barriers and opening 26 Career Technical Education pathways to all students.
Santa Clarita, CA - The William S. Hart Union High School District has been awarded the prestigious California School Boards Association (CSBA) Golden Bell Award for its Career and College Readiness Extended Day (CCR EXD) Afterschool Pathway Course Opportunities. The award recognizes exemplary public school programs statewide that address student needs through innovative instructional design.
The CCR EXD Program directly advances the district’s strategic plan focus area of Access and Equity, specifically to expand college and career preparation, increase career path completion, and focus workforce development efforts to reach all students.
Prior to the program's inception, high school students were restricted to Career Technical Education (CTE) courses offered only at their home campuses during the traditional six-period day. This structure required students to choose between high-wage career training opportunities and daytime priorities such as athletics, performing arts, or advanced academics. By offering flexible in-person, online, and hybrid classes after the traditional school day, CCR EXD removed these scheduling barriers, granting all students districtwide equitable access to CTE pathways.
"Our Extended Day CTE Program has bridged the gap between student passion and schedule limitations," said Hart District Superintendent Dr. Michael Vierra. "By offering CTE pathways outside the traditional school day, we ensure that every student, regardless of home school site or extracurricular commitments, can graduate with career-readiness skills and a clearer path to their future. This isn't just about offering after-school classes; it's about ensuring all our students graduate opportunity-ready to achieve post-secondary success."
The program supports over 37% of the district's high school students enrolled in CTE coursework annually. Its key impacts and accomplishments include:
- Expanding Student Participation: Enrollment in Extended Day courses grew from 851 students in 2022-23 to more than 1,200 enrolled for the 2026-27 school year.
- Dramatically Increasing Pathway Completion: The number of CTE pathway completers more than doubled over five years, growing from 600 in 2020-21 to almost 1,300 in 2025-26.
- Ensuring access for all students: Strategic support for students with disabilities and English learners, such as embedding instructional and bilingual paraprofessionals into the classroom, expands opportunities and helps ensure high academic achievement.
- Real-World Preparation: Students train on industry-standard equipment across fields ranging from Cybersecurity, Engineering, and Auto Technology to Medical Assisting, Fire Science, and Entrepreneurship while earning nationally recognized certifications and completing local work-based learning agreements.
For more information about the William S. Hart Union High School District’s CCR EXD program or its CSBA Golden Bell Award, visit hartdistrict.org or awards.csba.org/golden-bell.