Special Programs

Heartland Technical Academy

As juniors and seniors, students can attend the Heartland Technical Academy at Richland Community College.  The Academy's programs emphasize hands-on activities and cultivate skills that students will need in the workforce. Students who choose to participate spend the first half of the school day at HTA and return to CAM in the afternoon to complete classes required for graduation. Essentially, the HTA program replaces the electives at CAM that students would otherwise take. Students must apply in advance, and this process usually begins in February of the previous school year. Participation requires a fee. For more information regarding the programs HTA offers, please visit their website.

Richland Transfer Academy

As juniors and seniors, students can participate in the Richland Transfer Academy. This program allows students to work toward completion of an associate's degree from Richland Community College. In the morning, students ride the bus to Richland with the Tech students and can enroll in two classes per semester. If students do it both years, they can potentially earn 12 total college credits by the time they graduate from high school. These classes also count toward their high school requirements and replace the electives they would otherwise take at CAM. Please note that all classes may not transfer to other colleges, and students/families must pay for all tuition, fees, and textbooks.

Dual Credit Classes

Central A&M High School provides multiple opportunities for juniors or seniors to earn dual credit. Students can take the following courses through Richland Community College: English 101, English 102, Sociology 110, Psychology 110, Math 117, Math 121, Spanish 201, and Spanish 202. Mr. Rork teaches the math courses, and Mr. Lehman teaches the Spanish classes. Historically, students have taken both English 101 and 102 virtually. For Sociology 110 and Psychology 110, a professor from Richland Community College comes to CAM on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. for the class meeting time.

Students wishing to enroll in dual credit classes must take a placement test, but they can potentially become exempt from this requirement with an ACT or SAT score meeting the standard that Richland Community College sets.

Please note the following:

1. While courses sometimes count as transfer credit at other institutions, we cannot guarantee the college of your student's choice will accept these classes. Consider checking with the post-secondary institutions that interest your student before enrolling in dual credit courses. They can often tell you whether the class(es) will transfer to their college.

2. At this point in time, Richland Community College does not offer scholarship opportunities to dual credit students. With the exception of the Math and Spanish courses, students and their families hold responsibility for all expenses including tuition, fees, and textbooks.

Shelby County CEO

Shelby County CEO provides seniors with a unique opportunity to create and manage their own businesses. Through their participation, they meet students from area schools and visit local businesses. The program emphasizes the construction of skills related to entrepreneurship and real-world, practical experience. In terms of structure, the class meets every day from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., and students must apply in advance. This procedure begins in the early spring semester prior to the senior year. See Mrs. Taylor or visit the Shelby County CEO website for more information.

Work Program

In place of enrolling in electives, seniors who participate in the Work Program can spend up to half the school day (periods 1-4 or 5-8) at their part-time job. When they come to the school the rest of the day, they take the remaining classes they need to graduate. Seniors hoping to pursue this option must speak with Mr. Brown. They need to obtain his permission at the time of creating their schedule for the upcoming academic year.