Linked Learning is an old idea getting a new execution. A century ago John Dewey advocated learning through occupations. Theme-based high schools(like Aviation High School in New York City), career academies, and industry-themed small learning communities have been part of the U.S. education landscape for some time. But more often than not these opportunities existed in spite of the system rather than because of it. They were products of a few inno- vative teachers or a visionary princi often when their founders left their school, their innovations disappeared as well. In addition, the quality of design and implementation found in programs using a career pathways approach has been uneven at best. Fre quently academies" or"pathways are little more than names super imposed on traditional curriculum and teaching methods.