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Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Saturday, August 4, 2012
Programs prepare students for careers District provides career, technical education options Staff Report
Please see CAREER, Page 6
AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY INSTITUTION.
17400882-8-4-12BTS
About 8,000 Alaska students graduate from high school annually. Some go to college, some enter technical schools and some just stop educating themselves. At age 19, fewer than onefifth of those graduates still are in some type of educational program, according to state and university officials who have studied Alaska’s situation. This lack of continuing education means Alaska cannot meet its current workforce needs, much less future demand, according those officials. In fact, Alaska already ranks fifth in the nation for the percentage of teens not in school and not working, they say. The Alaska Career and Technical Education Plan, produced by the state education and labor departments and the University of Alaska, asks Alaska to prepare young Alaskans for work and then move them into it. The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District offers “career and technical education” programs to do just that. The programs target high school students, but the district plans to give middle school students Career and Technical Education options as well. Getting young students to think about career interests and helping them follow these interests reduces the risk that they’ll drop out of high school, according to the district. All Fairbanks high schools have CTE curriculum. Other district CTE programs include: