Students Graduate Muskegon Public Schools With Pathway to an In-Demand Career 

Muskegon schools partner with businesses to offer career pathways, internships and scholarships, preparing students for the workforce.

By Teree Caruthers on August 27, 2025

Muskegon Public Schools

In the Muskegon Lakeshore region, schools are partnering with business and community leaders to transform the way students are learning and preparing for life after high school. From career and technical training programs that offer project- and work-based educational experiences to nationally recognized curriculum models, Muskegon Public Schools ensures graduates are ready to succeed – and lead – in the local workforce. 

“MPS works in tandem with many community partners, including multiple workforce development efforts entities. We are realigning our work with students to guide them into high-paying careers,” says Matthew Cortez, superintendent of Muskegon Public Schools. “The key to helping students into their next step is exploration, experience and student voice. We use the supporting community partners to guide students into living wage opportunities and careers.” 

Innovation for the Future

One way the school district is realigning its curriculum with workforce needs is through the Innovation Academies of Muskegon (I AM), which exposes students to multiple career pathways and allows them to ultimately choose a path in areas that include health sciences, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing and engineering, among others. 

“The Innovation Academies of Muskegon have a few main goals. Student voice and student choice are top priorities. The alignment to our community and business partners and creating actual career pathways for every child is essential,” Cortez says. 

The school district begins career preparation as early as elementary school by exposing students to experiences, such as classroom speakers and field trips, within career fields that feed into the Innovation Academies. By freshman year of high school, students are immersed in career exploration, and in 10th grade, students choose between the Academy of Health & Human Services and the Academy of Industry, Technology & Design and select a career pathway that suits their interests. 

“After students choose an academy, they move forward into a career pathway, which includes not only coursework but also hands-on learning, such as student internships and multiple business tours and industry tours,” Cortez says. “Students will graduate with a diploma and something else in their other hand. That something else could be a college scholarship or an industry certification or even a job waiting for them when they graduate.” 

Muskegon Public Schools

At the Top of the Class

Muskegon Public Schools’ workforce development efforts earned it the designation as a Ford Next Generation Learning (NGL) community, one of only four such districts in the state to receive the title. The Ford NGL program works to connect educators, business leaders and community organizations to design innovative educational models that ensure students are well prepared for success after high school, and as Cortez says, “know exactly what they will be doing the Monday after graduation.” 

“All of our work has been surrounded by our business and employer community partners. These partners allow for guaranteed experiences for students to take place. They also have dedicated themselves to the master planning and development of the innovation academies,” Cortez says. “Our partners give industry tours and provide externships and internships for students. Teachers are also offered professional development externships to better align their curriculum to industry needs.” 

Muskegon Public Schools

A Convening Council – made up of five regional nonprofit organizations – helps connect businesses, employers and the community with I AM. Council members help secure resources for MPS students and offer guidance as to the region’s workforce needs. 

“Shifting the learning focus into the community and allowing students the opportunity to gain valuable exposure to in-demand careers will benefit the entire Muskegon community,” says Kristin Garris, chief workforce officer at Goodwill Industries of West Michigan and a member of the Convening Council. “Everybody wins when all students have a pathway to meaningful and sustaining work and when the community takes them into their workforce with the confidence that they are ready.” 

Yet another example of the community’s investment in workforce development is the Muskegon Area Promise scholarship program, which offers eligible graduates free tuition toward either a certificate program or two years of study at Muskegon Community College (MCC) or Baker College of Muskegon. The scholarship is funded by state grants and local donations. 

“The Muskegon Promise is a tremendous gift for students,” Cortez says. “The two years of education can serve to get an industry standard, an associate degree, the free beginnings for half of a bachelor’s degree – all using our local MCC or Baker College. This allows for every student to get a tremendous start into their choice of career and method of education.”