This brief argues that the next phase of California’s school improvement efforts should focus less on creating new initiatives and more on strengthening and integrating reforms that have already demonstrated promise. Specifically, it proposes career pathways as a foundation for high school redesign. Drawing on an ongoing study of career and technical education (CTE) in Los Angeles Unified School District as well as the broader research literature on CTE, this brief argues that career pathways represent one of the strongest existing foundations upon which to build broader high school redesign