It’s National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month and the Greene County School District has developed a program to fit all grade levels.

Career Academy Specialist Teresa Green says the school district is partnering with Greene County ISU Extension by offering exploratory classes for students in grades first through eighth and those classes match what is available at the career academy. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio about CTE Encore Classes that are designed for seventh and eighth grade students.

“The seventh and eighth graders get to pick which Encore Class they get to go to. So an Encore is a CTE branch and they can come to the high school. We have students that come to the career academy, we also have kids that go to the business in the high school side, and also the FCS (food consumer science) so that’s a really good opportunity.”     

Green notes that high school freshmen are required to take business readiness where they learn how to build a resume and interview for a job. From there, students can take regular business and food and consumer science classes, along with seven strands with the career academy. Green points out how the career academy can help inspire students for their futures.

“If a student can find their career path while they are in high school and they know they want to go into, and they don’t go to college and have a lot of debt. The next thing you know you are upside down. So I think it really helps them to try to find what it is that they’re passionate about and what they would enjoy doing for the rest of their lives.”   

Green adds if the classes you take at the career academy don’t end up the right path for you if you enter college, then those credits still transfer as electives. One strand Greene is excited to someday add to the career academy is business, which isn’t currently offered. Click the link below to access the career academy website with the Greene County School District.

https://www.gccsd.k12.ia.us/o/gcca