Career Academies

What is a Career Academy?

A career academy is a grouping of career pathways within McKinley high school, selecting a subset of students and teachers for a two-, three-, or four-year sequence of courses. Students will enter through a voluntary process; by selecting a career academy with parental knowledge and support. While career academies will vary in size, they usually have from one to three sections of students at each grade level, or 300-450 students in all. Students are able to complete graduation requirement within the regular school day, with the exception of work internships and possible college classes. McKinley currently offers four different careeer academies for students to choose from. (Modified from CASN website)

More about Career Academies & Pathways

A career pathway involves teachers from different subjects working together as a team, and is a subset of the career academy that focuses on a specific career area (Business, Health, Etc.). This team manages the program, with one member usually serving as the coordinator. Teams usually participate in professional development, particularly in implementing the key features of the model and gaining exposure to their career field. Team members have shared planning time, usually a daily common planning period. The joining of a group of students for several periods each day with teachers who they come to know well provides a family-like atmosphere, nurturing close student-teacher ties. A career academy functions within the larger high school/career house and requires administrator and counselor support. Career academy students may also participate in required and elective classes outside the academy, as well as other activities such as clubs and sports. Below are McKinley's four career academies. (Modified from CASN website)