USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C om mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia / S a n ta Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 18, No. 20
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
May 23, 2018
1 Section, 8 Pages
Career Academies:
Guiding the Future Workforce The workforce has always been continuously changing, but no more
students beyond just the certifications and college credit. They provide career counseling opportunities, both hard and soft skill training in projectbased and work-based settings, and even pro-
Alliance, more than 20 local business advisory councils, and city and county-level governments to find voids that need to be filled. “VTMAE, which is an aircraft maintenance company based out of Mobile, AL, said they were looking for new sources of employees. We brought it through some meetings and as a result, we developed the aviation maintenance academy at Washington High School,” said Dr.
Escambia County participated in the career academies. That amounts to around 66 percent of the middle and high school population being enrolled in one. Further, around 69 percent of Escambia County high school students participated in one of the academies. Around 200 of those students also had experience in workbased learning, which are co-op programs with local businesses. The 2017 school year
fessional development for teachers who lead the class. Often the academies give students a head start in further education, either through a college or technical school. “We want to change the connotation for skills training,” said Dr. Taylor. “We don’t want it to just be an option for blue collar-type jobs, we want to let people know it is for everyone.” The Escambia County School District Workforce Education department also works closely with local leaders in order to best develop new programs. Dr. Taylor said they consult with CareerSource Escarosa, the Florida West Economic Development
Taylor. There are also some career academies that fast track to local businesses, such as the Gulf Power and Cox Te l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s academies at West Florida High School. Last year, nearly 18,000 students across
also produced accreditations and certifications for more than 30 different certifications. At the high school level, 1920 students combined completed testing for certification, while at the middle school level that number was 904.
so than now. With an increase in automation and highly specialized skills becoming more desirable, it’s important for adolescents and teenagers to hit the ground running, developing marketable skills early even if they don’t take the traditional college path. By Tanner Yea Escambia County School District is helping fuel this need with its Career Academies. Headed by Director Dr. Michelle Taylor, the career academies allow middle and high school students to take advanced courses that help them attain certifications, college credit and experience in select career fields. “We are helping to diversify the economy through sector workforce development. We are targeting certain economic sectors that align with the Northwest Florida Strategic Plan,” said Dr. Taylor. “Pensacola has two main sectors: military and tourism. If we want to bring new industries to the area, we need to provide a workforce for these companies to gain employees from.” C a r e e r academies are available to Escambia County middle and high school students who have at least a C average, good attendance, and no major disciplinary problems. Each middle and high school in the district has at least one academy: a total of 48 academies on the high school level, and 16 ‘pre-career’ academies at the middle school level. The academies work by serving as elective choices that are chosen
in addition to traditional schoolwork like math and sciences. Each of the academies has a course sequence which teaches the fundamentals of a variety of career fields including aerospace engineering, game simulation and animation, health sciences, graphic arts and much more. A large majority of these classes offer accreditation and certification tests at the end of the course. For example, completing the Adobe InDesign course ends with the student taking a certification test and if they pass, they obtain a certification in InDesign. Dr. Taylor said these are not tests made easier for students – they are the full-fledged tests that adults take to obtain the exact same certification. “Not every student who goes through the career academies will go right into college. But if they don’t, they leave school with these certifications they can take into the workforce right away,” said Dr. Taylor. “Then if they want, they can always reenter the education system with that experience and those certifications and continue down the pathway to more certifications or degrees.” The academies provide a lot of benefits to the
Dr. Taylor said the mission of the workforce development department and the Escambia County School District in general is that education is built like a scaffold. The programs themselves are well connected and transparent with local leaders and businesses, and along the way there are multiple entry points – such as postsecondary school, apprenticeships and high school graduations – as well as multiple exits into increasing careers. “We’re teaching the value of digital tools, and the value of a credential. For example, you can walk out of high school with the right certifications in cybersecurity and easily make $80,000 starting salary,” said Dr. Taylor. “The career academies help build self-efficacy and really provide a workforce that benefits both the student and local businesses.” The career academy program has also lead to higher graduation rates, better career progression and students generally being more engaged in learning. Dr. Taylor said the program will keep expanding, with places like the newly opened George Stone Technical Center and every Escambia County school working to expand and develop the programs even further. Career academies are available at most Escambia County schools, and information regarding the programs can be found with their counseling services. For more information about career academies, visit ecsd-fl. schoolloop.com/career/ academies or contact Dr. Taylor at mtaylor4@escambia.k12.fl.us.