Reengaging High School Students through Career Academies

Students who cannot connect their learning in school with their career aspirations are at higher risk of disengaging academically and socially, and disengagement and boredom are harbingers of dropping out of high school altogether. Particularly in more urban, economically disadvantaged communities, there still are many traditional, comprehensive schools that are labeled “dropout factories” because more than half their students stop attending and fail to graduate. In many of these urban settings, career academies have emerged as a prominent reform to increase student engagement.

Embedded in high schools across the nation, career academies are situated in a variety of settings, including comprehensive and magnet schools as well as career centers. An estimated 8,000-plus are in existence, serving over one million students.

Initially formed to keep students from dropping out by preparing them to enter the workforce right out of high school, career academies have now extended their mission to preparing students to be both college and career ready. The academies’ goal is to enhance students’ engagement in school and improve their performance while exposing them to postsecondary education and work options.