Forging Pre-Apprenticeship Pathways

It was during his Urban Teaching Apprenticeship at Penn GSE more than a decade ago that he first started thinking about expanding the ideas of what a classroom could be. “Penn GSE made me think about the boundaries of traditional education, its shortfalls, and how it wasn’t serving certain people,” Zoblin said. “When you have an institution like our school system that hasn’t changed much in 200 years, and you have so much failure in terms of test scores and other metrics, something’s not right there. We need to do something different.”

One place doing something different was One Bright Ray Community High School, a network of alternative schools for overage and under-credited students. Over his nine years there as an English teacher, Zoblin honed his approach to relationship-based teaching. “You can’t teach a kid who doesn’t trust you,” he said. “You have to build that bond first, then use it to help them take academic and emotional risks.”

While there, Zoblin met Carlos Aponte, a fellow educator with his own vision for something radically different. That vision became We Love Philly, a nonprofit with a mission to create a more engaging and relevant learning experience for Philadelphia’s youth—one where mental health is prioritized and the city’s diverse opportunities and professional networks are emphasized. Inspired by Aponte’s idea for We Love Philly, Zoblin founded the organization’s board and now serves as a curriculum designer and educator.

In 2023, We Love Philly received state approval to launch one of Pennsylvania’s first pre-apprenticeship programs for high schoolers, offering a nontraditional pathway to graduation. That first program, in digital marketing, was chosen to play to the social media content- and brand-creation interests of the students—called “pre-apprentices,” not pupils. It blends technical instruction, socioemotional learning, and project-based learning as the pre-apprentices work toward earning Google’s Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Certificate while constructing professional portfolios.

A year later, Zoblin designed and launched a second pre-apprenticeship program in cybersecurity, which involves 200 hours of technical instruction as students work toward their Google Cybersecurity Certificate along with additional credentials in Linux, Python, and other IT-related skills. (Both pre-apprenticeship programs also include approximately 100 hours of socioemotional learning.)

“We tell them on day one: this program is growing, and you’re a part of that growth,” Zoblin said. “Together, we built our classrooms out of shipping containers, and the growing number of shipping container classrooms serves as a reminder that we are moving forward. We have made deliberate decisions to peel back the curtain and run the business in front of them by taking meetings with them present, consulting them on specific decisions. Our pre-apprentices see us running around making things happen. That energy is contagious.”

Zoblin’s curriculum design is rooted in real-world practicality and empathy. In creating the cybersecurity track, he completed the Google certificate himself to identify pain points, and he’s supplemented his lesson plans with hands-on platforms like TryHackMe. He also prioritizes soft skills—like how to “be in the room” professionally—and emotional intelligence. “A lot of our students have experienced trauma or instability,” he said. “We teach them how to reflect, how to grow, and how to move through the world with integrity.”

The results are promising. While not all of his students pursue careers in cybersecurity, many leave with industry-recognized credentials, job readiness, and a renewed sense of purpose. One graduate now works in tech at the Urban Technology Project; another interned at the Navy Yard. “We’re not just teaching skills,” Zoblin said. “We’re building networks of trust and opportunity.”

However, We Love Philly’s pre-apprenticeship programs are a supplement to, not a replacement for, “regular” school. Students used to come solely from One Bright Ray, but now are drawn from roughly 20 schools around the city and include some recent graduates. Looking ahead, the team is exploring a third pre-apprenticeship program, possibly in entrepreneurship.

For Zoblin, the work is personal and transformative. “When you’re a part of something that’s growing and working, there’s a palpable energy,” he said. “Everyone—staff and students—wants to bring their best selves. That’s what makes this meaningful.”