Career Education Meets Academic Preparation in Oakland County

Instead of wondering why they need to learn Algebra 2, students in Oakland County, Mich., understand how math applies to the careers they're thinking about pursuing.

Thanks to a regional system that covers 28 school districts and four technical schools, students start learning about potential careers in seventh grade.

And during their time in career and technical education classes, they learn by doing hands-on projects, using industry-standard technology and earning credentials to enter the workforce.

Students make academic-career connection

In seventh grade, students start the career planning process with a software program designed to help them pinpoint their interests and hobbies. Parents can work with them to create an education development program that includes what classes they'll take in high school and what goals they want to reach, said Mary Kaye Aukee, director of career focused education in Oakland Schools.

A few years later, they participate in the ACT EXPLORE and PLAN assessments. These assessments show them how they're doing academically. And the career map portion shows what types of careers require different skill sets and academics.

Students don't always understand how math, science and English relate to careers, Aukee said. But the regional system helps them understand why they're important.

In 11th and 12th grade, students can take career and technical education classes in six broad career pathways that the state established.

But in Oakland County, most of the school districts concentrate on business programs. On four technical campuses, programs that require a lot of equipment like engineering and transportation take students in their area.

"We tried to build a system so it's just not sporadic electives that kids take," Aukee said. "They can kind of see how career and academics work together."

Hands-on projects provide relevant learning options

At Oakland Schools Technical Campus Southeast, hands-on classes strengthen the connection between academics and careers. In the Business, Management, Marketing & Technology cluster, three instructors collaborate and plan their lessons. If they didn't work together, the lessons wouldn't be as rich, said Paul Galbenski, the 2011-2012 Michigan teacher of the year.

Students spend half a day at their home high school and half a day at the technical campus. And they're not stuck in a program that they don't like, either. If they work on programming for a few weeks and find out it's not for them, the teachers will move them to another program within the cluster that matches their skills and abilities.

Instead of having the classroom revolve around the teacher, the classroom centers on students and real-world projects. For example, IT students refurbish donated PCs and give them to community members in need.

Galbenski co-founded America's Marketing High School, a nationwide online business and marketing curriculum, with University of Detroit Mercy marketing professor Michael Bernacchi. As part of this curriculum, students at the technical campus do a capstone project based on Super Bowl advertisements. They ask students to rate the Super Bowl ads online.

The next day, they hold a press conference, reveal the student survey results and compare them to the USA TODAY Ad Meter. Both universities and industry partners work together to provide the technology students need for this project.

"What's great about this is that they're applying the theory and they really don't even recognize that at that point," Galbenski said.

Industry technology, credentials prepare students for careers

Along with applying what they learn, students use technology that industry professionals have and earn credentials they'll need to start a career.

Based on pre-assessments, the three teachers figure out what each student needs to learn and what knowledge they already have in a certain area. Then they give them the curriculum they need to move toward their national certification.

"Being in a facilitative environment, we're able to meet the students where they are when they enter the classroom," Galbenski said.

They also use equipment they'll find in their careers. For example, students in an engineering program would use the simulation design software that Boeing uses to design the interior of a car or part of an airplane, Aukee said. And students in the medical program practice putting IVs into simulated arms.

Often, students don't have a focus when they graduate high school and move to postsecondary education. And now, skilled jobs require postsecondary training of some kind, whether it's training at a technical school, a two-year associate's degree in a technical field or industry certification.

That's why Oakland County starts students thinking about careers in seventh grade.

"You have to have credentials and you have to continue life-long learning, and we have to get students thinking in that direction," Aukee said. "We also have to get students thinking that their academics are critically important to any of these careers."