Ooltewah High School Career Academy

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Ooltewah High SchoolCareer Academy
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Schools have a responsibility to improve and they
also have the freedom to improve
President George W. Bush
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What is a career academy?

• Self-contained sub school within a larger high
  school
• 100-200 voluntary students
• Application process
• Occupational or industry theme
• Whole course of study
• Includes vocational and academic

NCRVE, 2003
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A little history

• 1916 Dewey
• Advocate of integrating curriculum
• 1917 Smith Hughes
• Separate funding for vocational courses
• 1980s US Businesses
• Lacking critical thinking and problem solving
  skills
• Ability to learn in a continually changing
  environment

• 1990 Amendment Perkins Act
• Integrate academic and vocational education
• 1994 School-to-Work Act
• Reinforced Perkins amendments
• 2002 No Child Left Behind
• Education Reform

University of California at Berkley, 2003
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Integrate?

• Southern Regional Education Board (SREB 1992)
• All students should receive the essentials of
  the college prep curriculum.
• Kemple and Rock (1996)
• Real world course content and curricular
  alignment
• Bottoms and Sharpe (n.d.)
• Challenging Content, Pedagogy teaching for
  understanding, teacher collaboration, teaching in
  context, performance standards
• Grubb (1995)
• Student-centered, project-oriented approach
  social integration of students and greater
  coherence to the secondary program

2003
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Types of Integration

• One-Way Integration
• Improves academic content of vocational
• Principles of Technology, Applied Mathematics
• Two-Way Integration
• Changes academic and vocational education
• Teacher collaboration, Team Teaching
• Work Related Integration
• Apply concepts from academic and vocational
  classes to develop work-related skills
• Open-Ended (PBL)

2003
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when we put our minds to it, when we focus on
the greater good, we can get a lot done.
President George W. Bush
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Benefits of Career Academies

• Increased student investment
• Higher attendance and lower drop-out rates
• Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences
• Higher GPAs, improved attendance, a 100
  graduation rate, positive student feedback

Katz, 1995
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Benefits

• 1985-1988 California
• Statistical significant advantages in
• Attendance
• Credits earned
• GPA
• Retention through high school
• Dropout rates 7-8 over three years
• State Law Recruit students who are
  economically and educationally challenged

Stern, 1995
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Benefits

• Center for Research on the Education of Students
  Placed at Risk
• Patterson High School, Maryland
• Is the school environment conducive to school
  achievement?
• Before academy 86.7
• After academy 4.5

LaPoint, Jordan, McPartland and Towns,1996
McPartland, Legters, Jordan and McDill, 1996
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Their plans are rigorous and their plans are
innovative.
President George W. Bush
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Ooltewah High School

• International Studies Academy

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Why International Studies?

• Boy Scout Surveys
• Governor School for International Studies
• Exchange Programs
• Extra Curricular Programs
• Student population
• Student demographics
• ESL School
• Current Resources
• Talents of Faculty

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Boy Scout Career Interest Survey

• Business 103
• General, Business Owner, Entrepreneur, Real
  Estate
• Computers 98
• Programmers, Technicians, Engineers, Design

• Health Field 319
• Psychiatrist, Psychologist, Physician, Nurse,
  Sports Medicine
• International Studies 324
• Law, Attorney/ FBI/ Journalism, Military,
  Government Public, Security
• VP Arts 255
• Voice, Instrumental, Acting, Artist,
  Photographer, Interior Design, Dance

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We look forward to seeing the implementation of
curricula that works.
President George W. Bush
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Potential Curriculum

• Base Curriculum Beginning 8th grade (35)
• 4 English
• 4 or 5 Math
• 4 or 5 Science
• 5 Social Studies
• 4 or 5 Foreign Language
• 1 Wellness
• 2 Information Technologies
• 1 Fine Art
• 7 Electives

• Academy Curriculum
• 4 of 8 Major Cores
• Senior Portfolio
• Non-Credit Graduation Requirements
• 1 Summer Internship
• 4 Directed Studies/Mini-Courses

Herrmann and McCormick
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Personalization

• Reduces the impersonality of large high schools
• Each student works directly with academy
  counselors
• Semester parent meetings
• Small student population
• Bridge program, Night Owl
• College Access Center

National Association of Secondary School
Principals, 1996
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School-Based

• Advisory council
• Teachers mentors/advisors
• Junior review committee
• Elected student board
• STUDENT OWNERSHIP

1996
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Children respond to an atmosphere of high
standards.
President George W. Bush
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Career Majors

• Perkins and STWOA vertically aligned academic and
  vocational courses
• Constitute a career major, cluster or pathway
• Ideally extensive career activities are offered

Grubb, 1995
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Bilingual

• Succeed in a global economy
• Increases in verbal and nonverbal intelligence
• Superior in divergent thinking tasks, memory
  ability and attention span
• Higher test scores reading, language, math
• Strengthen first language in grammar, vocabulary,
  reading and communication skills
• Strengthens cross-cultural skills and cultural
  sensitivity

Learning.gov, 2003
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Problem Based Learning

• Activities students will use in the work place
• Relevant to curriculum
• Open ended
• Emphasize critical thinking

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With the No Child Left Behind Act, we have
committed the nation to higher standards for
every single public school.
President George W. Bush
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Internships

• Corporate paid internships for students
• Student guided tours of their facilities
• Paid summer internships
• Postsecondary institutions
• Tutoring
• College scholarships
• Corporate sponsors fund extended in-service for
  instructors at their facilities
• Kraft General Foods Teachers externships

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Examples of Internships

• Human Services
• Shadowing sheriffs deputies
• Shadowing district attorneys
• Studying forensics
• Operating a community preschool and childcare
  center

• Health Sciences
• First aid trainers
• Coordinate temporary community clinic
• Culinary Arts
• Operate a restaurant for students, faculty and
  community
• Full catering services

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International Studies Summer Institutes 2003
University of Indiana 2003
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Accountability for results is now the law of the
land.
President George W. Bush
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Senior Institute

• Coursework and portfolios
• Planning for post high school
• Senior graduation project
• Standardized test
• Senior internship
• Advisory portfolio

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Untapped Pools of Labor

• US Department of Labor (2002) We have a skill
  shortage, not a labor shortage.
• Minorities are over-represented in the untapped
  pool
• 10.5 Hispanic
• 2002 Census
• Hispanic Fastest growing minority in the
  Hamilton County area

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Bilingual Employment Opportunities

• Customer Service Representative
• Civil Service
• Translator
• Military
• Law Enforcement
• Sales and Marketing

• International Law
• Economist
• Teacher
• International Politics
• Environmentalist
• Business and Information Technology

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Academy Instructors

• Teachers volunteer
• Application process
• Willingness to adapt
• Desire to compliment goals of curricular
  integration
• Willingness to further education
• Colleagues share educational philosophies
• Unique collegiality
• Teach across the curriculum
• Thematic focus
• Paid teacher-collaboration time

NCRVE, 2003
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Areas For Further Research

• Minimum GPA for Diploma
• A,B, Do it again
• Career Resource Center
• Formal IEP

• Nontraditional Schedule
• Corporate Sponsors
• Associate Degree
• Certifications
• Grants

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Grant Opportunities

• Bilingual Education Comprehensive School Grants
• Bilingual Program Enhancement Grants
• Bilingual Education Teachers and Personnel Grants

• Smaller Learning Communities Grant
• Research
• Implementation
• Career Resource Network State Grants
• Carnegie In Kind

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And we look forward to the day that no child in
this country is ever left behind.
President George W. Bush