Yerlin Rivera’s educational journey took an unconventional path. After dropping out of high school at 17 and working two jobs for a year, she faced the prospect of starting over as a freshman at a traditional high school – a daunting prospect that nearly deterred her from completing her education.
Instead, Rivera enrolled at Premier High School’s Gallery Furniture location, combining credit recovery with certified medical assistant training through WorkTexas. Three years later, she passed her CMA exam and remains on track to graduate, with plans to pursue registered nursing.
“I really like that you’re at your own pace, but teachers are still pushing you to do better,” Rivera said of the program. “It was a really good way to ease myself back into school.”
Innovative Educational Models
Rivera’s success reflects WorkTexas’s approach to serving students who have struggled in traditional educational settings. The program combines academic instruction with hands-on career training, creating pathways to both high school completion and immediate employability.
Premier High School students spend approximately four hours daily on laptop-based academic coursework, followed by two hours of vocational training. This integration helps students apply mathematical concepts to real-world construction calculations or electrical load computations.
Marc Pollicove, career and technical education coordinator at the Gallery Furniture location, brings 43 years of teaching experience to the program. He emphasizes the importance of personal connections in re-engaging students who may have been failed by previous educational experiences.
“They learn because of the school culture we have here,” Pollicove said. “We encourage them to persevere, to overcome obstacles they think they have, not to let a single setback set them back forever.”
The program serves students who often arrive with significant credit deficiencies or have aged out of traditional high school settings. Rather than requiring students to start over, the flexible curriculum allows them to recover credits while learning marketable skills.
Mike Feinberg’s Educational Philosophy
Program co-founder Mike Feinberg developed the WorkTexas model based on lessons learned from three decades in education reform, including his role building the KIPP charter school network. His analysis of long-term graduate outcomes revealed gaps in the college-for-all approach.
“We overshot the target,” Feinberg acknowledged. “All of our college counselors could have, should have been career counselors or life counselors where college is an important pathway but not the only pathway.”
The comprehensive approach addresses multiple factors that influence student success, including transportation, childcare, food security, and behavioral health needs through partnerships with community organizations.
WorkTexas operates through partnerships with more than 30 organizations that provide specialized services. Houston Food Bank addresses food insecurity, while Wesley Community Center offers financial literacy education. Journey Through Life provides behavioral health support.
This collaborative model creates sustainable programming without requiring WorkTexas to develop expertise in every service area. Each partner organization brings existing staff, funding, and program development capabilities.
The program’s five-year alumni tracking commitment reflects Feinberg’s focus on long-term outcomes rather than short-term metrics. Staff maintain regular contact with graduates, providing ongoing job coaching and career advancement support.
“We’re not just looking at how the students are doing with us this year,” Feinberg said. “We make a commitment to follow our students for at least five years.”
Employer-Centered Training Design
WorkTexas curriculum reflects direct input from more than 100 business partners who help design training programs and provide job opportunities for graduates. This employer-centered approach ensures students learn skills that match actual market demands.
Training options include electrical work, welding, plumbing, automotive technology, HVAC maintenance, commercial truck driving, medical assistance, culinary skills, and other high-demand fields. Technical instruction comprises about 30% of the curriculum, with the remainder focused on soft skills development.
“Technical skills are about 30% of what employers want,” Feinberg explained. “The other 70% is people who get to work on time and can work on a team.”
The program addresses broader economic trends favoring skills-based hiring. Research from American Student Assistance indicates 81% of employers prefer hiring based on candidate abilities rather than degrees, while skilled labor wages have increased more than 20% since 2020.
TRIO Electric President Beau Pollock helped develop the electrical training program and has hired multiple WorkTexas graduates. He values the program’s emphasis on both technical skills and workplace readiness.
“Mike has embraced the employer’s perspective but also has the education perspective and knows the needs of the people going through the training,” Pollock said.
Houston Community College President Mike Webster helped develop the academic framework and funding model, leveraging federal workforce development dollars and state education funding to support program operations.
The program’s effectiveness stems from addressing comprehensive barriers to workforce entry. Transportation assistance, childcare services, and other support help ensure students can complete training and transition successfully to employment.
Early outcome data supports the approach. WorkTexas reports that 70% of graduates secure new or improved employment, with average starting wages of $19.10 per hour. Of Premier High School’s 38 graduates in 2024, 22 also completed industry-based certifications.
The dual-diploma model appeals to students like Juan Flores, who found large high schools overwhelming. After trying carpentry, he switched to welding, appreciating both the creative aspects and practical applications.
“I like to work with my hands and be creative,” said the 18-year-old. “It’s very subdued here.”
Success stories include graduates who have advanced rapidly within their chosen fields. Camden Living recently featured a WorkTexas graduate in a company video after he received their national building maintenance award within 18 months of completing training.
Feinberg’s vision emphasizes creating sustainable career pathways rather than short-term job placement. The focus remains on quality outcomes that enable participants to achieve economic stability and career advancement.
The program attracts national attention from education professionals seeking to understand how alternative models can serve students failed by traditional approaches. Premier High School operates 50 campuses across Texas and plans to integrate the vocational model systemwide.
For students like Rivera, who aspires to “have a career, not a job,” WorkTexas provides an alternative definition of educational success – one measured by career satisfaction and economic stability rather than traditional academic metrics.
Business leaders support the program through curriculum input and hiring opportunities, ensuring graduates learn skills that match actual market demands while addressing the skilled labor shortage affecting multiple industries.
The program demonstrates that innovative approaches to education can achieve remarkable results when they address students’ comprehensive needs rather than focusing solely on academic instruction. By combining workforce preparation with holistic support services, WorkTexas creates pathways to success for students who have been underserved by traditional educational models.