More students turn to career academies

"I was so fearful I wouldn’t get in. And then I thought, ‘This is the end or the beginning of my dream.’"

Happily, it was the beginning.

"Kids who go through CTE programs do better on standardized tests; they’re less likely to have to take remedial classes, because concepts that are so difficult for other kids to learn, they see them applied in these programs," Parker said.

"These kids are able to go through the program, maybe save themselves a couple hundred thousand dollars before they spend it on a four-year program in which they don’t even know what they’re going to do," Parker said.

Alesha Williams Boyd and Michelle Gladden, USA TODAY

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/05/27/career-academies-find-seat-in-schools/2364421/

***

Missoula, Montana’s Big Sky High School Health Science Academy uses hands-on approach to teaching http://www.matr.net/article-52304.html