3.3.1. Tim’s workplace: An upholstery shop in his school Tim was in a targeted, vocational program that focused on careers in upholstery. These programs offered students courses and experiences to prepare them for a specific career (e.g., upholstery, construction, esthetics), to help them meet the academic, social, and technical demands of workplaces, and to allow them to complete high school. The district school board described them as “specialized programs” for students “interested in pursuing a specific career or in taking a specific program at the postsecondary level” [24]. The expressed goal of the specialized vocational programs in this school district was to help students “understand theircareer optionsleadingto well-informedcareerdecisions and greater post-secondary success.” The twoyear upholstery program offered Tim hands-on experience in designing, cutting, sewing, refinishing, and installing upholstery in a shop that resembled a workplace. Students were required to complete courses and earn credits in manufacturing, business English, navigating the workplace, mathematics for the workplace, and manufacturing co-op education.