40+ years ago the city schools needed to cut costs, so it adopted a single general education curriculum, and eliminated most technical, vocational & business programs. They also closed down many libraries, school kitchens, art, music and other non core programs, including after school sports. They sold this to the public as a college prep curriculum. Most students, in the city, need job skills. If the school system would re-establish a job-centric program, including job placement, it would catch on like a school which has a strong arts or athletic program. Students would see their older siblings and neighbor's kids getting jobs via school, and would buy into the program. Money talks, the promise of a ticket to college, when college is not affordable and people leave college with no marketable skills, is real.

Additionally foundation and exploratory courses need to start in middle school not halfway through high school.