PBC Career Academies Honored With National Standards Of Practice Awards
Bito David, Public Affairs Specialist
Career Academies from five Palm Beach County High Schools that were evaluated during the 2005-2006 school year based on the National Standards of Practice (NSOP) were honored during the 10th Annual National Career Academy coalition conference in San Francisco, California on November 13, 2006. Connie Scotchel-Gross, Manager of Career Education for the School district of Palm Beach County and representatives from the five schools were in attendance at the Academy Awards Luncheon to accept this honor. The NSOP were developed by a group of national organizations connected with career academies who determined that a set of standards would help define what a high quality career academy should look like. The standards were introduced at a press conference in December 2004 and were endorsed by the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor. The National Career Academy Coalition has developed an evaluation process, based on the NSOP, for school districts to utilize. The award winning career academies that were selected as national models by exceeding the NSOP include:
- Palm Beach Gardens High School Tourism, Hospitality and Resort Management Career Academy
- William T. Dwyer School Finance Career Academy
- John I. Leonard High School Computer Technology Career Academy
- Forest Hill High School Environmental Science Career Academy
- Lake Worth Community High School Pre-Medicine and Allied Health Career Academy
We salute the administration, faculty and staff at these schools for maintaining high standards that benefit their students and their communities.
During the NCAC Conference, Connie Scotchel-Gross, Dr. John Romeo, Cindy Culp, Mary Delucia, Dr. Jon Prince, and Arty Falk presented a breakout session titled, "Sharing the Palm Beach Career Academy Secrets." The session provided participants a plan to learn how to prepare for a career academy evaluation from start to finish. The participants left with an understanding of how these academies function, how the corporate and broader community is involved, how some middle school feeder efforts are underway and how the school district supports the efforts. In addition, Connie Scotchel-Gross also participated in “Wizards in the Round” that included experts in the field who addressed various topics of career education in a roundtable discussion.
Ms. Scotchel-Gross stated that, “We have learned -- the importance of "bridges" and connections. Our career academies in Palm Beach County are about relationships, and there is no better way to build bridges among teachers, students, higher education and business than the career academy model.”
Bito David, Public Affairs Specialist
(561) 963-3820
For more information call Connie Scotchel-Gross at (561) 357-7537