Build UP

Demographics

Percentage of students*

Why Build UP was nominated

Build UP is one of the nation’s first early-college workforce development high schools. Students from targeted neighborhoods enroll and build career-ready skills through paid apprenticeships with industry-focused high school and college coursework. Students finish with a high school diploma, industry credential, associate degree, and homeownership of the house they rebuilt during their Build UP time through a zero-percent interest loan. Build UP structures an educational pathway, provides wealth through homeownership of a duplex that generates passive income, and helps youth gain stable careers with incentives to stay and invest in their local communities, leading to long-term revitalization. Build UP partners with local Birmingham community organizations to protect historically Black neighborhoods from gentrification. The program began with the Ensley neighborhood and this year launched in Titusville. Build UP is working with Navigate Affordable Housing Partners and the Titusville Development Corporation (TDC), Blight Free Birmingham, and Common Thread Community to increase resident ownership and investment in neighborhood improvements., ​Build UP has an early college workforce development model that enables low-income youth to develop career-ready skills while revitalizing their community and gaining homeownership.

Student experience design

We equip youth and communities to determine their future and build personal wealth for generations to come. At Build UP, our vision is brought to life through a comprehensive model that fuses academics, work-based learning, and pathway success. Too often, efforts to address poverty rely on narrowly focused solutions that fail to match the complexity of the problems communities face. In contrast, the Build UP model—integrates rigorous academics with trades-based career pathways and long-term wealth-building strategies. Our students don’t just complete coursework; they acquire the skills, credentials, and mindset needed to transform their lives and uplift their communities. We believe equity equals ownership, and our school is a launchpad for that vision—equipping students to master industry-relevant skills, navigate postsecondary options, and build long-term economic mobility. Through a purposefully sequenced experience grounded in readiness and mastery, students split their time between high-quality academic instruction and hands-on training in construction, building, and other skilled trades. Instruction is integrated and purposeful, preparing students to earn credentials like OSHA and NCCER, complete their high school diploma, and develop real-world work experience in internships and apprenticeships. These efforts are guided by dignity-centered systems with high expectations, supported by strong partnerships that expand postsecondary and workforce opportunities. The commitment doesn’t end at graduation—students receive continued support as they transition into college, apprenticeships, full-time employment, and eventually homeownership.

Core Practices

Core Practices	Length of Use
Career Advising & Support	3-4 years
Culturally Responsive Practices	5+ years
Internships	5+ years
Individual Learner Profiles	1-2 years
SEL Curriculum	1-2 years

All Practices

Advancement On Mastery

Student Advisories

Anti-racist Practices

Apprenticeships

Assessments For Career Readiness

Assessments For Social-emotional Skills

Blended Learning

Career Exploration

Community And Workforce Partnerships

Family And Community Support Services

Competency/mastery-based Education

Early College High School

Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles

Industry-recognized Credentials

Industry-aligned Learning Pathways

Individual Learning Paths

Mental Health Services

1:1 Mentoring

Performance Based Assessment

Restorative Practices

SEL Integration School-wide

Student-led Goal Setting

Trauma-informed Practices

Tutoring

Youth Employment Programs

Career Prep

key reasons for innovating

Artifacts

First-generation homeowner