Education City Examples: Career and Technical Education

Albany, New York
(population 93,523)

The Department of Youth and Workforce Services (DYWS) operates a variety of services to support disconnected youth.  DYWS coordinates Albany YouthBuild, a community development program for youth.  Through the program, youth spend half their time building houses for the homeless and low income families and the other half pursuing academic goals and receiving vocational and remedial education and job training.  In addition, the Service Navigation System provides comprehensive youth employment and development services.  The system’s objectives are to increase job skills, experience and education; improve motivation and knowledge of post-secondary employment and training opportunities; and improve youth civic participation. 

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Baltimore, Maryland
(population 635,815)

The Baltimore Career Academy, operated by the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development (MOED) provides an education alternative to 150 out-of-school youth ages 16-21 each year.  Students have the option of pursuing a high school diploma with a business/technical concentration, obtain a GED, or participate in the Diploma Plus program through the Baltimore City Community College.  Students also receive workplace training in fields such as business technology, human service, information technology, and landscaping.  Internships through the employers are available for further work-based learning.

The Career Academy is a partnership between the Baltimore City Workforce Investment Board and the school district.  Because the Career Academy is a former Harbor City High School campus, the district provides instructional materials, personnel, and additional curriculum elements at other high school campuses, and summer remediation. 

Two Job Corps centers and two local community colleges are also involved in the partnership. 
To complement the Career Academy, MOED and the district worked together to open the Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE), as one of four “innovation high schools.”  Emphasizing exploration, postsecondary education, and career opportunities, ACCE offers individualized instruction, smaller class sizes, year-round learning, and a longer school day.  Students who pass their classes receive a spot in the city’s YouthWorks summer jobs program. 

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Cambridge, Massachusetts
(population 101,355)

The Office of Workforce Development (OWD) was created to serve as a planning, coordinating, and oversight body for youth and adult employment and training services. OWD's achievements include delivering information and referral services to over 1,000 youth and adult residents on an annual basis, developing school-to-career initiatives to increase young people’s preparedness for employment, coordinating the city summer jobs campaign, engaging the private sector as work site trainers and supervisors for over 250 youth, and establishing a citywide Career Pathways Initiative aimed at developing a sequenced set of career exploration and internship options for students.

OWD has facilitated an alliance between community agencies that meets weekly to share over 200 job leads annually to match employers’ needs more efficiently; establishing a new community college campus in partnership with the city; and upgrading the Cambridge Employment Program, the city's job matching service, to serve over 150 residents annually.  OWD advertises its programs through a Youth Employment Center at the high school, publishes a directory of employment and education opportunities for residents, and works with other organizations in the city. This program won a 1996 Innovation Award from the National League of Cities.
Source: NLC innovation award winners recognized, by Nathan Ridnouer, Nation's Cities Weekly, v19 n50 (Dec. 23, 1996) p16, Washington, DC: National League of Cities.

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Los Angeles, California
(population 3,694,820)

The Los Angeles Police Academy Magnet School Program introduces high school student participants to law enforcement roles and duties. It is offered at five Los Angeles high schools, each of which has a Law and Government magnet program as well. The Program's curriculum includes specialized courses focusing on law enforcement and officer-related careers, as well as conventional courses like English, math, and history taught with a law enforcement perspective. Besides teaching students about policing, the Program helps the Los Angeles Police Department identify and recruit potential officers. Supporters of the Magnet School Program include several city departments, local higher education institutions, foundations, and corporations.

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Louisville, Kentucky
(population 692,910)

The Office of Youth Development runs two programs specifically targeted towards career development.  The Studio2000 Arts Program enables youth demonstrating an interest and skill in the arts to work with professional artists.  The program is open to all local high school students and provides employment opportunities in the various arts.  The Youth Services and Career Institute is a four month program for 14 and 15 year olds.  The first three months focus on training and career preparation and the final month is reserved for internship opportunities.  The career preparation workshops provide typing and PC skills, resume writing, mock interviews, and career assessments.  

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Odessa, Texas
(population 90,953)

Odessa's Career Center is a non-traditional school for 10th-12th grade students who want to gain employable skills along with their high school diploma. Students, who must apply for admission, are graded daily on appearance, attitude, and punctuality as well as academics. Students can focus their study on one of 16 career pathways such as computer technology, nursing, teaching, electrical technology, culinary arts, marketing, phlebotomy, or computer aided design/drafting.

Those who earn a grade of 85 percent or better can gain real work experience through internships. Even though students may have below average scores upon entering the program, the school's graduation rate is 40 percent above average. Eighty-five percent of graduates retain jobs at above average wages, and 35 percent of graduates enroll in college.

Source: Best economic development practices, by Bill R. Shelton, Bob Bolen, Texas Town & City, v88 n6 (Jun. 2000) p28-29, Austin, TX: Texas Municipal League.

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Oskaloosa, Iowa
(population 10,938)

Oskaloosa's Construction Trades Program provides technical training to high school students in the construction trades field. The program is a partnership between the school district and the Oskaloosa Housing Trust Fund (OHTF). The school district has a class that provides about 10 students with the opportunity to be trained in various housing construction trades. The OHTF acquires property and covers all of the construction costs. The program improves neighborhoods by providing newly constructed affordable housing while students gain hands-on experience.

Source: www.oskaloosaiowa.org/housing/ConstructionTrades.php

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Portland, Connecticut
(population 5,534)

Town-Tech is a partnership between the City of Portland and its high school.  Through the program, the town is able to save thousands of dollars by having students perform vital technical work, while providing them with invaluable work experience. One of the biggest Town-Tech projects was the digitization of 136 town maps using GIS software. Ongoing projects include preparing the town's annual report, producing special multimedia presentations for various departments, maintaining the town's Web site, and collecting water quality data from local reservoirs.

Source: High school students digitize documents for town, Connecticut Town & City, v27 n6 (Nov./Dec. 1999) p20, New Haven, CT: Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

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Spartanburg, South Carolina
(population 39,673)

Through a grant from the Upstate Workforce Investment Board, Spartanburg High School operates a youth academic preparation program that includes career and technology education, work readiness skills, career exploration, and transition to post-secondary education and/or the workplace.  The program is designed to serve 40 WIA eligible youth ages 16-21 who are currently enrolled at Spartanburg High School in grades 10-12 and are at risk of dropping out of school. 

Providing comprehensive support services, the Career Preparation Academy enables each student to graduate and be ready for a successful transition into post-secondary education or the workplace.  Students can participate in a summer program at Daniel Morgan Technology Center or dual enrollment courses at Spartanburg Community College.  The program has formed partnerships with the City of Spartanburg, Spartanburg Public Safety and others to provide work experience opportunities for participants.

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