Launch and Learn: Exploring Diverse Educational Programs and Opportunities

The "Launch and Learn" concept encompasses a wide array of educational programs and opportunities designed to equip individuals with the knowledge, skills, and experiences needed to succeed in various fields. From apprenticeship networks and K-12 online learning to specialized education services and unique maritime experiences, these programs cater to diverse learning styles and career aspirations.

Apprenticeship Networks: Bridging Education and Real-World Experience

Apprenticeship programs offer a blend of classroom education and real-world experience, enabling individuals to acquire both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. These programs are designed to meet the needs of various industries, providing a pathway to rewarding careers.

Exploring Registered Apprenticeship Career Pathways

Registered apprenticeship programs provide structured, on-the-job training combined with related classroom instruction. These programs are available in numerous occupations and offer a clear path to career advancement. To explore registered apprenticeship career pathways, individuals can:

Select a location: Discover apprenticeship programs located near you.
Filter by occupation: Identify programs that align with your career interests.
Explore local educational institutions: Find educational institutions that offer the desired apprenticeship programs.

For example, in California, a map of Community Colleges can be utilized to explore available registered apprenticeship opportunities at local educational institutions.

LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network

The LAUNCH Apprenticeship Network connects individuals with apprenticeship opportunities, serving as a valuable resource for those seeking to embark on a career through apprenticeship. A Community Engagement Liaison acts as the first point of contact, guiding individuals through the process and connecting them with relevant opportunities.

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Healthcare Pathways Showcase at Bakersfield College exemplifies the focus on workforce training. Contributions to such programs support the next generation of skilled workers.

K-12 Online Learning with LAUNCH

LAUNCH provides online learning opportunities for students in grades K-12, catering to various learning levels and needs.

Elementary (K-5)

Elementary students must enroll in Launch courses full-time to participate, ensuring a comprehensive and immersive learning experience.

Secondary (Grades 6-12)

Secondary students can enroll as full-time virtual students or take virtual classes on a per-course basis, providing flexibility and customization.

K-12 Course Catalog

The K-12 Course Codes & Catalog Spreadsheet offers convenient access to all course information, while the 2025-2026 K-12 Course Catalog provides a comprehensive overview of available courses.

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Program of Excellence

Elmbrook Schools' innovative LAUNCH program has been honored as a 2025 Program of Excellence at the Wisconsin Career Readiness Summit, recognizing its integration of academic coursework with profession-based, project-driven learning experiences in partnership with local businesses.

Profession-Aligned Strands

LAUNCH offers 12 profession-aligned strands, including Data Science, Future Teachers, Engineering, Media Solutions, and Medicine & Healthcare, serving over 400 students from the Elmbrook and Wauwatosa school districts.

PLTW Launch: Engaging Young Learners in STEM

PLTW Launch is designed to immerse young learners in hands-on activities, projects, and problems that build upon each other and relate to the real world. It supports a wide range of implementations, fostering integrated learning that blends computer science, engineering, biomedical science, and more.

Modules and Activities

Characteristics of Living and Nonliving Things: Students explore habitats and develop an understanding of what living things need to survive.
Understanding Matter: Students examine solids and liquids through hands-on activities, exploring floating and sinking.
Healthy Habits: Students develop an understanding of healthy habits and learn how food affects growth, gross motor skills, the heart, teeth, and eyes. They discover career connections as they learn about wellness checkups at the pediatrician, dentist, and optometrist.
Germs and Healthy Habits: Students investigate how germs are spread and explore healthy habits to prevent the spread of germs.
Spatial Sense and Coding: Students develop spatial sense as they engage in activities that explore directional movement. They begin to develop coding skills as they plan a path, create wearable code, and code an interactive robotic device.
The Design Process: Students discover the design process and how engineers influence their lives. They explore the elements of structure and function by identifying products around them designed by engineers and asking questions engineers might ask.
Pushes and Pulls: Students investigate pushes and pulls on the motion of an object and develop knowledge and skills related to forces of differing strengths and directions.
Structure and Function in the Human Body: Students explore the relationship between structure and function in the human body. They examine major organs within the body and investigate how the structure of each is related to its function.
Computers and Technology: Students explore the nature of computers and the ways humans control and use technology. Starting with an unplugged activity, students learn about the sequential nature of computer programs.
The Sun's Warming Effect: Students learn about the Sun’s warming effect on Earth. They investigate how the Sun affects different Earth materials, which leads to how the Sun affects our weather.
Needs of Living Things: Students investigate the needs of living things. During an outdoor walk, students look for plants and animals and consider how their needs are met in their natural environment.
Properties of Light and Sound: Students investigate the properties of light and sound, including vibration from sound waves and the effect of different materials on the path of a beam of light.
Patterns in the Sky: After observing the sun, moon, and stars, students identify and describe patterns in their recorded data. Students utilize their knowledge of light to design, build, and test structures created to solve this problem.
Animal Adaptations: Students explore animal adaptations for protection, camouflage, food obtainment, and locomotion.
Computer Programs: In this module, students explore the sequential nature of computer programs through hands-on activities, both with and without a digital device.
Inherited Traits: Students investigate how offspring are like their parents. They model animals’ patterns of behavior which help them survive.
Properties of Materials: In this module, students investigate and classify different kinds of materials by their observable properties, including color and texture, and heat conduction.
Seed Dispersal and Pollination: Students research the variety of ways animals disperse seeds and pollinate plants. They expand their understanding of properties of matter as they consider the form and function involved in seed dispersal and pollination.
Earth's Changing Surface: Students explore how the surface of the Earth is always changing. They are introduced to different types of maps and explore how these maps convey different information about the world in which we live, including where water is found on Earth.
Computer Science Fundamentals: In this module, students explore the sequential nature of computer programs through hands-on activities, both with and without a digital device.
Biodiversity: Students learn about the diversity of life in habitats, or biodiversity. They observe different habitats and the living things that grow in them.
Forces Involved in Flight: In this module, students learn about the forces involved in flight. They design, build, and test an experimental model glider to find out how air and other forces affect its flight.
Simple Machines: Students explore simple machines such as wheel and axles, levers, the inclined plane, and more. They investigate the effects of balanced and unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.
Genetic Traits: A litter of puppies intrigues Angelina, Mylo, and Suzi. The characters wonder how the puppies' traits help them in their environment.
Control Structures: Students explore control structures such as events, loops, and conditionals.
Weather and Climate: Students explore, collect, and classify data related to three factors that affect weather: precipitation, temperature, and wind.
Life Cycles: Students are introduced to life cycles. Students compare and contrast different animal life cycles to identify common features and specific differences.
Earth's Habitats: Students learn about Earth’s habitats and how these habitats support life.
How Computers Work: In this exploration of how computers work, students are encouraged to make analogies between the parts of the human body and parts that make up a computer.
Waves and Energy: Students observe the amplitude and wavelength of waves in a simulation and describe their patterns. They learn that waves move energy from one place to another, which can cause objects to move.
Characteristics of Living Things: Students learn the characteristics of living things and look for similarities among organisms.
Natural Features on Earth: Students explore natural features on Earth. They learn about different landforms and bodies of water.
Humans and the Environment: Students learn about the relationship between humans and the environment.
Energy-Related Phenomena: Students engage in explorations of energy-related phenomena.
Robotics: Students explore the ways robots are used in today’s world and their impact on society and the environment.
Autonomous Robots: This module focuses on developing skills needed to build and program autonomous robots.
Transmission of Infection: Students explore transmission of infection, agents of disease, and mechanisms the body uses to stay healthy.
States of Matter: Students learn about the three states of matter. They investigate mixtures…

Specialized Education Services: LAUNCH Program

The Launch program provides students with exceptional, personalized learning with structured and supportive specialized education services to meet individual student needs.

Vision

The vision of the Launch program is to model and teach students lifelong communication skills, social skills, behavioral regulation skills, and independent living skills to be productive members of their school and community.

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Individualized Instruction

The Launch program provides each student with the individualized instruction, support, and services needed to access the general education setting to increase independence, provide social interaction, and when appropriate, academic opportunities with peers.

Multi-Categorical Programs

All district center-based programs are multi-categorical based on student needs, ensuring that students receive the appropriate level of support and instruction.

Systematic Approach

The Launch program uses a systematic approach which incorporates evidenced based instruction, along with the use of dynamic instructional strategies and methodologies.

Natural Environments

The Launch program utilizes natural environments for instruction, positive behavioral programming, educationally based sensory activities, and inclusion into the general education classroom with mainstream peers and activities as determined by the Individualized Education Plan team.

Unique Needs

Students in the program have unique needs that may or may not include cognitive impairments and most have significant needs in the areas of communication, sensory, and behavioral development and regulation.

Service Delivery

Students typically receive specialized educational services for more than 60% of their school day, indicating the intensity of support provided.

Inclusion

Students will be provided instruction and participation in the classroom at the grade level of their non-disabled peers to the greatest extent possible, promoting inclusion and access to the general education curriculum.

Continuum of Services

A full continuum of services are available and provided as indicated on a student’s IEP, ensuring that students receive the appropriate level of support and intervention.

Classroom Structure

Each Launch center-based program classroom consists of approximately 6-8 students with one licensed special education teacher and paraprofessional support, allowing for individualized attention and support.

Additional Services

Additional services and supports are available based upon the student’s Individualized Education Plan goals and needs, ensuring that students receive comprehensive and tailored support.

Referral Process

Prior to program referral, school teams must consult with the building facilitator and special education team, and attempt specialized educational interventions in the student’s current environment.

Review Teams

The district referral process, utilizing the Elementary Review Team, Middle School Review Team, and Secondary Review Team, needs to be closely followed as outlined to ensure that each student is educated in his or her least restrictive environment (LRE).

IEP Team

A person knowledgeable in the student’s primary disability category must be on the student’s Individualized Education Plan team, ensuring that the team has the expertise to address the student’s specific needs.

Seaport Museum Programs: Maritime History and Culture

The Seaport Museum offers a variety of programs that combine education, entertainment, and maritime history. These programs provide unique experiences for students, New Yorkers, and visitors alike.

Sailing Opportunities

The Seaport Museum offers unforgettable sailing experiences that combine ecology, culture, music, architecture, and other engaging topics with breathtaking sights.

Guided Tours: Set sail on a guided architecture or culture tour, led by knowledgeable experts who share their insights and stories.
Spectacular Sights: Enjoy spectacular sights that will take your breath away.
Discounts: Seaport Museum members receive 20% off on all sailing opportunities.
Free Admission: All sailing tickets include free admission to the Seaport Museum.
Reservations: Advance reservations are recommended.

Pride Sail

Board the 1885 schooner Pioneer for a festive sail celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride! Guests are invited to BYOB--whether it’s Bring-Your-Own-Brunch, -Beverage, or -Bottle of wine is up to you!

Ecology Sails

As we sail on the 1885 schooner Pioneer, you are invited to take part in the experience by hauling on ropes to raise the sails; studying the ecology of the estuary; measuring water characteristics that are critical to the ecosystem, such as salinity, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen; and examining seaweeds and other plants, as well as a variety of small organisms including plankton.

Musical Journey

Embark on a musical journey through New York Harbor aboard the 1885 Schooner Pioneer with the Seaport Museum!

Additional Sails

This includes Launch and Learn sails, additional timely sails for seasonal events, and the schedule for excursions on the historic 1930 tugboat W.O. Tour routes are subject to change due to unpredictable boat traffic in the Harbor and weather, though captains will do their best to include the sites listed.

Access to Historic Ships and Exhibition Galleries

Access to the historic ships and exhibition galleries at the Seaport Museum is included with your sailing ticket!

General Admission

General Admission brings you aboard the 1885 tall ship Wavertree and 1908 lightship Ambrose at Pier 16, and into all current exhibitions on view in the first-floor Schermerhorn Row galleries at 12 Fulton Street.

Maritime City

Your ticket also sets you on course to explore Maritime City, the Seaport Museum’s immersive, three-floor exhibition at A.A.

Pioneer's History

Pioneer was built in Pennsylvania in 1885 to carry sand and heavy cargoes along the Delaware River. Unlike almost all American cargo sloops and schooners that were made of wood, Pioneer was constructed with a wrought iron hull because she was built in what was then the nation’s center for iron shipbuilding. Today, she is the sole American merchant sailing vessel with an iron hull.

Exceptional Experience

Through offering sails aboard Pioneer, the Seaport Museum provides an exceptional experience to the public, catering to inquisitive students, seasoned New Yorkers, and eager visitors alike.

Special Occasions

Looking for a unique and unforgettable way to celebrate a special occasion with friends and family or impress your clients with an exciting corporate outing? Want to take a class? The choice is yours.At Launch, students come first. The proof? Our K-12 catalog was designed to feature opportunities for all types of students at various learning levels.

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