Will a New Approach to Vocational Ed Keep Kids from Dropping Out?

School meals don’t have a great reputation. But a culinary arts class at Rockdale Career Academy in Conyers is making lunch that looks much more appetizing than hot dogs or mystery meat. They’re   mixing sauces, peeling potatoes, and chopping chicken.

Culinary arts is just one of the courses high school students can take at this college and career academy. They can choose from career-based fields like childcare, construction, and graphic design, to name a few. They can also take college prep classes, like AP English and Physics.

Principal Miki Edwards says the school has partnered with businesses so industry professionals teach classes.

“By offering them career technical pathways taught by industry experts—real nurses, real engineers, real public safety folks, real computer networking industry experts, we have given them real relevance in that classroom so they can really learn from people who’ve done the job before,” she says.  

Practical Application

Edwards says she’s seen the payoff. On the first day of school a few years ago, a preschooler in the childcare center had an epileptic seizure. The incident brought former student and paramedic Adam Nation back to the school to help.

School officials called 911. Nation heard the call come in and offered to take it. When the ambulance pulled up to the school, Edwards saw Nation coming toward the building.

“Everything went smoothly,” Nation said. “It was great being able to know that I learned how to do a lot of stuff that I know how to do and put it to use at the same place that I got my education from.”

Those are the kinds of results state officials are hoping for. Georgia has 29 college and career academies. They operate on charters and have their own governing boards. Applicants undergo a competitive grant process, overseen by Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s office. Cagle said career academy students leave high school prepared.

“This gives kids the ability to, one, leave there with an industry-certified certificate or leave there with college credits,” Cagle said.  

Keeping Kids Hooked

Officials are relying on relevance, as Edwards mentioned, to keep kids in school until graduation. Mike Buck is the chief academic officer for the Georgia Department of Education and a GOP candidate for state schools superintendent. He said career academies put the old adage “children learn by doing” into practice.

“If you say something, lecture students, they will get some of what you’re lecturing about,” Buck said. “If you show them something they’ll get a little bit more than a straight lecture, but if you actually show them the work, they’re going to learn much more.”

Students at RCA seem to be applying that philosophy.

In Mr. Hagan’s physics class, junior Frederick Tarrer is able to explain the relevance of his task pretty well.

“What we did is we made an electromagnet out of a nail and some really fine wire, right?” he explained. “So what we did is we hooked it up to a power source and then connected it to a meter to test how strong it would be.”

Regardless of whether they have access to a career academy, all Georgia high school students can get a taste of what they have to offer.

This past year, high school freshmen were able to choose one of 17 career clusters in which they can specialize. Officials hope the plan will spark enough interest to keep kids in school until graduation. 

Students who attend college and career academies earn diplomas from their home high schools, not the academy itself.