by Stacy Jackson
December 27, 2024
Ninth graders at Tupelo High School are enrolled in the Freshman Academy to explore career options before they choose a focus sophomore year.
Tupelo High School in Mississippi is kickstarting the careers of its students by enrolling every freshman in a Career Academy program designed to give them a focus throughout their senior year.
The Daily Journal reported that Tupelo Public School District’s (TPSD) Career Academies program is intended to prepare high schoolers for life outside the classroom. The program, which reflects the format of a college major, is a combination of career, technology and classroom education that prepares high schoolers for career opportunities after graduation. “It’s basically an attempt to give children, students, a vision of themselves in the future and to create students that are globally competitive and locally committed,” said Rob Picou, TPSD Superintendent of Education.
Students entering the ninth grade are enrolled in the Freshman Academy. By the conclusion of their first year of high school, they will have explored several post-secondary career and education options in preparation for the sophomore year, where they will select one of the available specialized academies: Communication, Arts and Business (CAB); Health and Human Services (2HS); Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); or Middle College.
Through TPSD’s Career Academies, students are prepared for enrollment, employment and enlistment across specific careers. Although students are still required to complete the state curriculum, the program offers work-based and project-based learning experiences that include job shadowing, mentorship, internships and community service.
“Career Academies are a complete redesign of how we do business at the secondary level,” Picou said.
TPSD’s goal is to become a model district for the National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC). According to NCAC, the coalition established the Career Academy National Standards of Practice (NSOP) in 2010, guidelines for the development and implementation of career academy programs. The academies, originally developed in 1969, offer students resources ahead of college and entrance into the workforce.
Career Academies are expected to become the standard of secondary education in Tupelo by the 2027-28 school year.
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