Click on the following logos to learn more about these initiatives:
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Academy of Finance
East Davidson High School
Fact: North Carolina is home to the second largest financial district in the nation.
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Academy of Medical Sciences |
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Academy of Medical Sciences offered to all Davidson County students
Fact: The health care industry is the fastest growing career field, according to the United States Department of Labor.
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Academy of Biotechnology
Ledford High School
Fact: North Carolina is a worldwide leader in agricultural biotechnology, ranked 2nd in the nation.
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What are Career Academies?
Career academies offer a thematic-based approach that allow students to participate in a sequence of courses to receive specialized training in a particular career pathway. The academies approach adapts to the realities of a knowledge-based economy that requires complex critical thinking skills and applied learning. The goal for each academy is to implement rigorous coursework, offer relevance of learning and to develop business and industry relationships that enhance student learning. Academies fully integrate academic and technical skills that prepare students for post-secondary education, training and productive entry into the workforce. Each career academy implemented within the Davidson County School system directly establishes relationships with the community, post-secondary institutes and the workforce to ensure a smooth transition from high school to post-secondary education and into the workforce.
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What Does an Academy Look Like?
- Each academy is organized as a "school within a school" that offers students a sequence of courses that lead to advanced training/education.
- Each academy has a particular career theme.
- Each academy collaborates with related business and industry.
- Each academy is labor-market driven.
- Each academy offers rigorous and relevant courses.
- Each academy integrates academic and technical concepts.
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Why the Academy Approach?
National studies and high school reform efforts have examined how to improve the preparation and learning experiences of high school students. Many of these efforts center on the ideas of "Rigor, Relevance and Relationships." The National Research Council found that schools help students learn by:
- Rigor-providing "challenging instruction and support for meeting high standards;"
- Relevance-providing "choices for students and making curriculum and instruction relevant to adolescents' experiences, cultures, and long-term goals;"
- Relationships-promoting "a sense of belonging by personalizing instruction, showing an interest in students' lives, and creating a supportive, caring social environment."
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