The School District of Escambia County’s career academies are
small learning communities within a high school that focus on a career
pathway for a two-, three-, or four-year span. Students enter through
a voluntary application process; they must apply and be accepted, with
parental knowledge and support. Students in a career academy take a mixture
of career (usually one or two) and academic (usually three or four) classes
each year. Classes meet entrance requirements for four- year universities.
Students develop knowledge in a given industry, and—in most academies—students
have opportunities to earn industry certification relevant to the career
academy. Students’ senior year may include work experience, a paid
or unpaid, in the community.
Studies have found that students in career academies perform better
in high school and are more likely to continue into post secondary education,
compared to similar students in the same schools. After assessing the
most extensive, longitudinal study yet on academies by MDRC, William
Rasberry, of the Washington Post, succinctly wrote, "The magic,
apparently, is in the combination of linking academics to job prospects
and the intensive involvement of adults." Several leading organizations
of career academies have agreed on a common standard for academies, and
use the following parameters when describing a career academy: * a small
learning community, comprised of a group of students within the larger
high school, who take classes together for at least two years, and are
taught by a team of teachers from different disciplines; * a college
preparatory curriculum with a career theme, enabling students to see
relationships among academic subjects, and their application to a broad
filed of work; and * partnerships with employers, the community, and
local colleges, bring resources from outside the high school to improve
student motivation and achievement.
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