ABSTRACT
According to some estimates, the United States will be unable to fill 23 million jobs over the next decade, while 20 million American youth, most from low-income backgrounds, will be out of work or underemployed.1
The emerging strategy of developing thematic schools aligned with state standards has the potential to address these basic challenges.2 In the urban market system, schools compete for external resources to provide sociocultural support to help students build the skills needed to make informed choices about high schools, college majors and college financing.
