Butte School District
Butte, Montana
A year ago, if you were to ask an elementary school student in Butte, Montana, what they want to be when they grow up, they’d probably respond with, “A YouTuber.”
“Or maybe play video games, be a professional athlete, a dancer, or a singer,” said fourth grade teacher Bobbie Anderson. “All that is well and good, but I think students need to be exposed to a variety of careers. The more exposure they have, the better.”
That alignment is starting to happen for students in Butte School District. They’ve been delving into Discovery Education’s Career Connect, which is part of the Experience platform. Career Connect allows educators to bring professionals from a wide range of industries directly into their classrooms. Through these interactions, students learn firsthand about different occupations, the paths professionals took to reach their careers, and how the skills students are developing today may apply to their own futures.
Rather than pulling time away from the curriculum, Career Connect fits inside it, enriching what students are already exploring.
Where Distance Doesn’t Limit Opportunity
Students in Butte have no shortage of curiosity, but they often have fewer opportunities to discover what is possible beyond their immediate surroundings. Home to 35,000 residents, Butte’s workforce is concentrated in mining, specialty manufacturing, healthcare, and education, with few other industries carrying similar weight.
“When we talk about the word ‘career,’ it’s usually teacher, doctor, lawyer, veterinarian,” said Anderson. Students may recognize these familiar professions, she explained, without understanding the much broader range of careers they could explore.
Fourth-grade teacher Mary Hamm elaborated further and explained that career exploration begins by helping students see work as more than simply the job an adult in their life happens to have. “It’s important to introduce students to the idea of a career, because many of them may only think of the work their parents do as a job,” she said. Students need opportunities to understand that a career can be a path they choose based on their own interests, and one they can begin preparing for now.
Exposing students to careers is important, but often there isn’t time in the school day to dedicate to it. That’s where Career Connect from Discovery Education comes in.
Global AND Local
The Butte School District’s pilot of Experience and Career Connect was made possible through the collaborative efforts of Curriculum Director Ron Ricketts and Discovery Education Partner Success Manager Allison Nys. Together, they worked closely to bring the pilot into district classrooms and provide students with opportunities to connect their everyday learning to authentic careers and experiences beyond the school walls.
A great example of this was when seventh-grade science teacher Alyssa Hartson asked students to select ecosystems to study within a larger ecology unit. She knew her classroom walls could only take her students so far. So, Hartson looped in Career Connect to bring in the Vice President of Conservation at Polar Bears International, who gave students a presentation of her work and answered questions.
The class learned how the organization uses tracking devices to learn about the animals’ movement, behavior, and habitat, as well as diet and predators. What made the experience even “cooler” (pun intended!) is that although the organization tracks polar bears in Canada, students learned that Polar Bears International is headquartered in their home state of Montana. This discovery helped students see that careers that may seem distant or difficult to pursue can be much closer, and more attainable than they realize.
Rave Reviews
Ricketts considers the pilot an overwhelming success. “It was incredibly exciting to bring real people from industry directly into our classrooms and watch our students realize just how many career possibilities are available to them,” he said.
Meet the Volunteer Who Never Left the Classroom Behind
The benefits of Career Connect don’t stop with students. The professionals who volunteer their time walk away changed, too. Such is the case with Ava Goldson Crews, who presented to Mrs. Hamm’s fourth graders.
Goldson Crews, the Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Warner Bros. Discovery, oversees a program that empowers limited-resourced individuals with below-the-line, entry-level film and TV opportunities on WBD productions.
She also oversees CSR’s educational partnerships, including initiatives like Story Lab, a collaboration that leverages the power of DC superheroes to build confidence and storytelling skills in students from elementary to high school. Since the program’s launch, Story Lab has reached over 400,000 students across the country.
Her resume is certainly impressive, but Goldson Crews has never forgotten where she started her career—in a classroom, as a Teach for America Corps Member.
“Though my formal time in the classroom was short, it shaped how I view the power of education,” said Goldson Crews.
Her enthusiasm for her work is contagious, and the fourth graders left her session with a whole new sense of what’s possible.
The Case for Starting Early
Career education has traditionally been reserved for high school, but there is increasing recognition that by the time students reach that point, it may be too late. “Exposing students to these options at the elementary level is critical. We need to spotlight the vast range of possibilities available to them—whether they want to work with their hands, their minds, or their hearts,” Goldson Crews explained.
This exposure is especially important as the world of work evolves. Many elementary students will one day pursue careers and perhaps hold job titles that do not yet exist. “Today, the landscape is shifting rapidly,” said Goldson Crews. “Tech is creating entirely new industries, yet there’s simultaneously a gap where essential, evergreen jobs aren’t getting the attention they deserve for their stability, specialized skill sets, and room for passion.”
Ricketts wholeheartedly agrees on starting the conversation early. “It is especially important at the elementary level because the earlier we can help students discover their interests and passions, the earlier they can begin dreaming big, setting goals, and seeing a future for themselves that they may never have imagined before,” he said.
With Career Connect, schools aren’t just preparing students for jobs that exist today. They’re equipping them with the curiosity and adaptability to create ones that don’t.
Quick Facts
District Details
- 9 facilities serving 4,000+ students
- Partnered with Discovery Education Experience since January 2026
3 Ways Career Connect Helps Butte Students
- It brings the world to a classroom not located in a large, metropolitan area.
- It connects classroom curriculum directly to real-world work.
- It plants career awareness early, not just in high school.
