In this article, the author, a health and physical education teacher at the Red Bank High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, describes the process of a school "makeover." Having been informed by the school principal that the plan was to develop a career academy and have it in place for the next school year, the author was assigned a new…

In this article, the author presents a model of the career academy concept. The author states that in New York's Putnam and Northern Westchester counties, the eight career academies of the Tech Center at Yorktown are not only providing hands-on programs that teach job-related skills, but a team of evaluators from the Association for Career and…

Describes Providence Place Academy in Rhode Island, the "School at the Mall" where students work for 90 minutes per day at various stores to learn about the retail industry while reinforcing what they learn in the retail/marketing-based curriculum and acquiring customer service skills. (JOW)

Describes the program at Marriott Hospitality Public Charter High School in Washington, DC, the nation's only high school devoted to the hospitality industry. A career academy, the school provides mentoring and real-world work experiences in collaboration with industry professional associations. (JOW)

Career and technical education (CTE) is in danger of being eliminated without sweeping changes. A coordinated systemic approach can change what is taught, when, how, and where. The approach includes new curriculum frameworks, integration of academic and CTE, and a high school delivery system based on career academies. (JOW)

Career academies are specialized high schools that blend challenging academic courses with realistic work experiences. An academy's curriculum organizes academic instruction around an industry or occupational theme and enables students to complete college preparatory courses and acquire work-related knowledge and skill. (Author/JOW)

In Manatee County, Florida, not only did they build career tech programs into career academies, but they also developed an evaluation process to ensure these career academies were credible. A District Academic team created the "Documentation of Academy Assessment Criteria" with 12 core components and a rubric that helps evaluators…

In 2001, the Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Division of Career and Technology Education (CTE) began its focus on small learning communities developed around career clusters in strategic locations throughout the school district. Through these clusters, students can develop the skills and knowledge necessary to make informed decisions…

The example of a school-to-career program in Louisiana illustrates steps for achieving the sustainability of such initiatives: (1) develop high-quality programs keyed to national standards; (2) generate enthusiasm and consensus building; (3) garner business, education, and government support; (4) let intermediaries make the case; and (5) use media…

Career academies in Philadelphia have evolved over the past 30 years. A comprehensive review of their effectiveness found that students have better attendance and grades, higher self-esteem and satisfaction with school, and lower dropout rates. (JOW)

Research has shown that there are essential scheduling practices for high-performing schools that have been able to implement innovative "nontraditional" schedules. What these have in common is the focus on personalized learning environments for students. Personalized learning can mean career academies/smaller learning communities (SLCs), in which…

Career and technical education has always been able to change with the times. New technologies and new educational challenges have made such change necessary. Sometimes a school must reinvent itself and undergo a rebirth as part of that adaptation. That is what has happened at the former St. Louis Career Academy. In the 2004-05 school year, the…

In 1969, the first academy opened at Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. Called the Academy of Applied Electrical Science, the program was set up as an independent not-for-profit corporation with its own board of directors. Over the years, three more career areas--business, health and automotive--opened academies as independent entities. …

This article describes the Palm Beach County School District's new and visionary project designed to improve the quality of education for its students. It is developing 80 career academies as a response to the business community's request for high performing graduates. These career academies offer expanded choices to students that challenge them…

When Judy Karen Brown (the 2004 Alabama Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher of the Year) arrived at Bob Jones High School (BJHS) in Madison, Alabama, in the summer of 1999, she immediately identified a need to build both student and community interests in family and consumer sciences (FACS). She noticed the student and faculty interest in the…