Career Academies have been around since 1940 but they are taking on new life in Nebraska.
A Career Academy is a sequence of academic and career technical courses which reflect a Career Cluster selected in response to local, regional, or state employment needs and demand for expertise.
Many high schools across the state are offering career based classes. In fact, 97 percent of Nebraska high schools offer at least one Career Technical Education (CTE) program of study. And the programs are effective. Ninety-nine percent of high school students who participate in CTE graduate. All of Nebraska’s community colleges offer career academy programs, too.
Because of this success, Nebraska Career Academies are gaining national recognition. The Education Career Academy at Millard Public Schools (MPS) recently earned the Excellence in Action Award from Advance CTE, the longest-standing national non-profit that
represents state directors and state leaders responsible for secondary, post-secondary, and adult CTE across all 50 states and U.S. territories.
This year’s award winners, spanning 11 Career Clusters from 10 states, represent some of the best Career Technical Education programs in the country.
The MPS Education Career Academy allows students to explore the field of education and prepare for college while still in high school. Students complete a sequence of demanding academic courses and an internship to earn 30 college credits at Metropolitan Community College and the University of Nebraska – Omaha.
More and more students look to career academies to get a jump on their future. For more information on career academies visit: https://www.education.ne.gov/nce/CareerAcademies
