FAQs

Career academies are designed for all students.  As most career academies are organized within high schools from 10th thru 12th grade, any 9th grade student can select into a career academy.   Typically, schools have multiple career academies for students to choose among.   There is no “creaming” of students.  We serve all students who are interested.

National experts describe 10 standards that set career academies apart from traditional high schools.  According to students in career academies supported by Philadelphia Academies, Inc., the elements that they found most impactful include:

• A master schedule that organizes students into small clusters among one another for three years.   In other words, they have the same Math, English and industry elective courses from the same teachers and with the same groups of friends/peers.  Because they are in small groups for a significant period of time, they build relationships with one another and with their teachers.  This smaller, personalized learning has a big impact particularly for students who attend the large comprehensive high schools.
• A robust, rigorous curriculum that sets the bar high.  Students say that they want their teachers to set high expectations.  They want to be challenged.  They are motivated to attend class that they find interesting and applicable.  In fact, students who are in career academies, typically have higher daily attendance rates than students in the same schools who are not attending career academies.
• Sequenced, student supports that are tied to an industry theme.   Students appreciate the real world experiences that are provided to them through industry site visits/tours, guest instructors, project-based activities, and internships.  They also appreciate the opportunity to build upon lessons learned from the previous year and the career academy model is sequenced to do just that.

Industry input (industry trends/ advice, human resources, capital support) is what makes the career academy model innovative.    The career academy models that we support in our schools are all tied to high priority occupations as designated by the Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board and the State’s Department of Labor and Industry. 

We measure our results by comparing our high school graduation rates (84%) to graduation rates of students who attend the same high schools but who are not in career academies.  We also measure our results by conducting cohort analyses 6 and 18 months after high school graduation. We have found that 90% of our graduates report that they are either in college, working, both working and in college or in the military.   We are now in the midst of a 6-year research effort with the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Policy Research in Education to learn more about the essential career academy elements and longitudinal outcomes of students supported by our model. 

A nationally recognized leader in organizing industry to play a role in education. We have received national awards – one most recently from the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies, an initiative of the Ford Motor Company to promote project-based instruction in high schools.  We won based on our long track record and ability to organize business and community partners to participate in the career academy model.   Last year, we organized nearly 500 business and community partners for nearly 3,000 hours of volunteering in our career academies.  We are a primary portal for businesses to get involved with the Philadelphia public high schools. 

An organization of youth development practitioners who are trained to provide technical assistance in schools. We have also been selected by the Ford Partnership for Advanced Studies to be the Northeast US technical assistance “Hub” to provide other schools and youth development organizations training and workshops on how to engage youth in project-based instruction.

A catalyst for high-profile project-based learning opportunities in schools. Students from West Philadelphia Automotive and Mechanical Engineering Academy, which is supported by Philadelphia Academies, Inc., participated in an international hybrid car competition sponsored by Progressive Insurance.  Our students made it into the top 20 finalists, beating out elite universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and for-profit companies.  Students presented to President Obama in the fall and he mentioned their car as a national STEM stand out – and reason for further investment in STEM related high school activities.    

An innovator in the area of career-linked education and the creation of tools that develop 21st century skills. We just launched a 21st Century Skills Curriculum, co-written by Big Picture Philadelphia (a member of a national nonprofit that manages a growing network of charter schools) and Mark Springer, an award winning retired teacher from Radnor High School.  The goals are to support students’ problem solving/issue resolution, collaboration and teamwork, workplace literacy and social network development skills. 

A leader at introducing state-of-the-art industry concepts to schools. We launched the state’s first Biotechnology Academy in 2008.  We will have our first graduating class this year. We are in the midst of launching the state’s first Mechatronic Career Academy – a combination of mechanics, electronics, automotive and technology industries.