CAREER ACADEMY MYTHBUSTERS

Career Academies provide an opportunity for students to complete course work related to career themes in preparation for future education and career paths. Students who complete a pathway of recommended courses and a culminating, “capstone” experience receive an Academy certificate. Capstone experiences allow students to apply their academic education to authentic, real-world projects and further develop leadership and teamwork skills. Capstones at Blake might be an internship at a theater, business or science lab; a research project mentored by a NASA scientist, museum curator, or IBM executive; a video documentary, dance or music composition, or student-directed play completed for entry into a national competition; a leadership position responsible for producing a Blake activity or event. Staff and career professionals will mentor students as they demonstrate their applied learning in these settings.

We encourage parents and students to carefully consider the opportunities that our academies offer for academic challenge and career exploration. The structure of smaller learning communities is a change from the way large high schools have traditionally been organized. We understand that change is difficult and made even more so by myths and misinformation concerning career academies, such as:

MYTH #1: Academies force students to choose careers.

THE TRUTH: Learning is most successful when it can be connected to specific, concrete applications. All our students will eventually join the workforce, so academies provide a unique opportunity to explore future careers and the world of work. Academy themes are broad and often interdisciplinary. They do not promote specific jobs but instead expose students to numerous careers and connect to professionals who can mentor and inspire student success.

MYTH #2: Academies limit course choices.

THE TRUTH: Students are not limited to courses in their pathways or academies. In fact, academies often share courses that are interdisciplinary, so students from several academies might take the same course. As part of our pathway development, we have added several unique course opportunities and sequences that were previously unavailable at Blake. As always, students may take any courses of interest offered at Blake. Academy pathways guide students in their course choices, but students are not required to complete a course sequence. Academy certification is optional.

MYTH #3: Blake High School is implementing the academy model strictly because we received a Federal Smaller Learning Communities grant that requires us to comply.

THE TRUTH: Blake is implementing academies because we think this education model will be a good thing for our students; that is the reason we applied for the Federal grant. Studies and national trends about workforce excellence indicate that early focus on career pathways helps students succeed in their post-secondary studies and future careers.  In addition, our own student performance data indicates there is room for improvement in the way we prepare students for academic challenges and the global workplace beyond high school. Schools that have implemented the academy model, including many in MCPS, have demonstrated that career academies have a positive impact on students’ lives.

MYTH #4: Academy has actually made students not want to pursue the career they signed up for and a majority of the students strongly dislike academy

THE TRUTH: It's true  

We expect that Career Academies will instill a renewed sense of engagement for our

students, staff and parent community. Should you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to contact our Academy Coordinator, Barbara Jeweler at 301.879-1369 or

email: Barbara_P_Jeweler@mcpsmd.org.