The Greene County School District Career Academy gives high school students opportunities to explore different possible career paths.

Freshman Adian Neil is excited to continue to take college level courses in the career academy next year.

“It allows for students, and potentially next year for me taking classes that normally we wouldn’t be able to take if we were in the old high school. It allows for Iowa Central (Community College) to be able to come down here, and have a place, and have an area for teaching kids college credit classes. It just provides a better environment for college learning and helps people prepare for the future.”

Career and Technical Education Coordinator Teresa Green says CTE begins with the middle school students going to the high school to expose them to what is offered at the high school and Career Academy. She talks about how some of the areas can lead to future job placement.

“Maybe they like welding, and they’re like ‘yes I want to go into welding.’ We currently have a couple of apprenticeship students that are participating in that. I believe they are going to go into welding when they graduate from here.”      

Courses that are being taught at the Career Academy include advanced manufacturing-welding, agricultural information technology, computer science-programming, construction-building trades, culinary and hospitality and health care.