Robert Schwartz has served as Assistant Principal at Richmond Hill High School in central Queens for over a decade. In that time, he has become a leader in building school-employer partnerships and transforming post-secondary outcomes for students. When Rob stepped into his role in 2014, only 40% of graduates matriculated to college. Today, that number has risen to approximately 75%. For Rob and the broader RHHS community, CARA has been both a catalyst and an anchor, sparking a critical shift in the school’s vision while continuing to serve as core infrastructure for delivering equitable, informed, and student-driven postsecondary pathways.
Rob describes his relationship with CARA as foundational to both his leadership and the school’s transformation. He began partnering with CARA at a moment of crisis, when the school faced closure and lacked the capacity to adequately support students, at one point relying on a single college counselor for nearly 600 seniors. With CARA’s support, RHHS established a dedicated college advising office and embedded a college application course for juniors and seniors through the College Inquiry model. Today, CARA is deeply integrated into the school’s structure and culture, with nine CARA-trained youth leaders and Bridge Coaches extending the reach of advising through peer-to-peer support that Rob sees as more authentic and effective than traditional adult-only models.
This work is reinforced by RHHS’s six career academies Health Sciences, Hospitality & Tourism, Law & Forensics, Media/Art/Design, Software Engineering, and STEM which provide CTE pathways, paid internships, and dual-enrollment opportunities through partners such as York College and Monroe College. As a Career Ready Modern Youth Apprenticeship school, RHHS also connects students to paid apprenticeships with employers including JP Morgan Chase and the NYC Department of Health.
Within this ecosystem, Rob describes a “synthesis” between college access and career pathways: students explore careers first and then connect those interests to college decisions. Youth leaders, many of whom are embedded in these academies, play a critical role in helping peers navigate both career exploration and college planning with intention. As Rob explains, CARA’s training model reinforces this approach by grounding youth leaders in the realities of today’s postsecondary landscape while building the skills to guide their peers. Through sessions on career exploration, college fit, and decision-making, youth leaders are equipped to help ensure that postsecondary planning is not abstract but purposeful, aligned with students’ goals, experiences, and long-term aspirations.