Career academies are small, personalized learning communities within a high school that select a subset of students and teachers for a two-, three-, or four-year span. Students enter the academy through a voluntary process; they must apply and be accepted with parental knowledge and support.

A career academy includes the following essential elements:

• A small learning community
• A college-prep curriculum with a career theme
• Partnerships with employers, the community, and higher education

By design, these three central elements of a career academy lead to a school that is rigorous, relevant, and relational. As such, career academies are an excellent example of a reform model for Florida's policymakers and practitioners to consider.

Link: Florida Department of Education Career & Technical Education

Link: Get There: Florida's Workforce Education Initiative