Career Academies

Chad Gazzola and his classmates are on a tour of New York City’s financial landmarks. They’re visiting the New York Stock Exchange, the Mercantile Exchange, along with a personal tour of Manhattan’s Home Depot. They want to be the next generation of multi-millionaires. “Everyone that I talk to, they all want to be businessmen. They all want to be the richest men in the world, be Bill Gates. Create the new thing,” says Chad. The field trip is part of what’s called a career academy, a special two-year high school program that might be called a trade school for white-collar workers.

Steve Fortenberry, finance academy instructor, explains how the class works. “They’ll take coursework including marketing, personal finance, international business, corporate finance, public speaking and a computer course for the business environment.”

Career academies are a growing trend in high schools, a specialized curriculum that teaches kids skills they can use later in college and in their careers. “It’s part of a larger ‘school within a school’ philosophy,” says Fortenberry, “that you’re seeing in more high schools. Looking for smaller groups within the larger high school. And this is another example of that.”

Chad wants to be an orthodontist. But he says, “As a backup I’d like to be a businessman. I thought that finance class would help me get there and prepare myself to be a successful business leader.”

Chad’s father, Ed, says he’d recommend the program to any parent. “I think the investment that was made in the two-year program was well worthwhile. Again, regardless of the career that your child might go through, I think it taught them a lot of practical things.”

Chad says learning about finance is hard work but he says: “It’s never boring. [Mr. Fortenberry] always has something fun for us to do. It’s always interactive. And he always gives us a good time.”

While the academies help students get a head start on career awareness, researchers say more studies are needed to determine their true worth. Current research shows career academies have no effect on standardized test scores, and don’t appear to have any impact on future employment options.

The basic principles for high school were established over a century ago and aimed to meet the educational needs of 10 percent of the population. Today’s classroom is evolving to catch up with changes in family and culture. Traditional learning centers are challenged by alternatives with less geographical and operational constraints. As parents demand more flexibility and personal attention for children, they look to such alternates.

In response to 75 percent of high students entering the work force before obtaining undergraduate degrees, the School-to-Work Opportunities Act was implemented on May 4, 1994. Those new to the work force were without the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in America’s changing workplace. Most high school graduates face high unemployment rates and lower earnings than college graduates. The 1994 act sought to reintroduce “work-based learning, which is modeled after the time-honored apprenticeship concept.” Career academies were listed as a way schools could help students transition from high school to employment. The federal legislation has expired, but career academies continue to grow. Consider the following:

• Charter schools are publicly financed schools that largely operate independently of government regulation. About 700,000 students attend charter schools.
• Over one million children are home schooled, up 29 percent since 1999.
• Estimates indicate 300,000 elementary through high school students enrolled in an online class in the 2002-2003 school year.
• Between 1,000 and 3,000 career academies exist in the United States.
• Some states provide funding for career academies.
• Many career academies focus on areas such as finance, travel and tourism or information technology, so other funding comes from corporate sponsors like Citigroup, American Express, Merrill Lynch, NASDAQ and McGraw-Hill.

In order to address issues such as “overage” freshmen and high truancy and dropout rates, some high schools are turning to career academies. These schools see the academies as a means to reshape large, impersonal high schools into small learning communities. In fact, many schools are adopting career academies as their front-line effort at whole-school reform.

School officials hope career academies will increase students’ engagement in learning, raise achievement and keep kids in school until they graduate. Corporate sponsors want to play a role in developing a strong, prepared workforce.

Academy students show more enthusiasm in learning when their courses are connected to work and careers. Students must maintain a B average on all assignments and exams. Furthermore, academy students are more likely to:

• Rate their coursework as relevant and interesting.
• Report being motivated to take challenging academic courses.
• Feel academically prepared for careers and jobs.
• Acquire adequate workplace and interpersonal skills.
• Develop career plans.
• Report having supportive teachers and smaller classes.
• Remain engaged in learning.
• Attend school regularly.
• Earn higher grade point averages.

But, studies show career academies:

• Had no discernible effect on students’ standardized test scores.
• Had graduation, college enrollment and employment rates similar to traditional programs.
• Had little or no impact on students’ future employment outcomes.

CNN
Education Week
National Academy Foundation
National School Boards Association
School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994