EXPANDING CAREER ACADEMIES

“Join me in a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a 

job.”

- President Obama

The President’s budget maintains a strong commitment to education and job training initiatives, 

including $1 billion to expand the number of career academies and increase opportunities for 

students to participate in college-preparatory and career and technical curricula in their 

schools. In order for the United States to out-innovate and out-compete the rest of the world, we 

will need to ensure that all students graduate from high school college- and career-ready. Career 

academies across the country have shown that offering students academically rigorous curricula 

embedded in career-related programs reduces high school drop-out rates and prepares students for 

careers that lead to high earnings. 

Career academies combine a college-preparatory and career and technical curriculum with a career 

theme (such as health care, business and finance, or engineering). They are often structured as small 

learning communities and housed within larger traditional schools. Career academies can make 

education more relevant to high school students through personalized and contextual learning while 

preparing them for successful careers and postsecondary education. Local employers are critical to 

career academies and provide career awareness and work-based learning opportunities for their 

students.

Through this new initiative, States would award competitive grants to partnerships of school 

districts and local employers, creating 3,000 new career academies and increasing the number of 

students served by 50 percent. This means that half a million more students would have access to 

programs that studies suggest can lead to higher earnings and better academic outcomes. 

Career academies would:

 Increase student achievement and reduce the drop-out rate. Although students who drop 

out, or are at risk of doing so, are often thought of as low achievers who need a watered-down 

curriculum, educators find that often the opposite is the case. Career academies can make a 

rigorous curriculum more relevant to students’ interests and provide work-based learning 

opportunities that keep students engaged in school. When students are more engaged in school, 

they are more likely to succeed academically and graduate. In fact, a 2000 study found that 

students enrolled in career academies have higher grade point averages, higher test scores, and 

lower dropout rates than non-career academy students in the same schools.

 Increase postsecondary attainment. Career academies can be designed so that high school 

and on-the-job and post-secondary training opportunities are better aligned. Through dual 

enrollment and dual credit agreements, participants would also obtain industry and 

postsecondary credentials sooner and with less student debt. 
 Help industries hire American workers. Many industries have to look for foreign labor as 

they struggle with finding workers with the skills they need at home. For example, growing 

industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can 

do the job. Career academies that are designed with strong industry partnerships can help close 

this gap. 

 Improve the earning prospects of students. Career academies also increase the future 

earnings of students. For example, a recent 2008 study found that career academy graduates 

made 11 percent (over $2,000) more per year, on average, than non-academy graduates in 

schools that housed career academies within traditional schools.

 Align with other efforts to ensure youth and adults have the skills and credentials our 

economy demands. These efforts include:

o $1.1 billion to support the reauthorization and reform of the Career and Technical 

Education (CTE) program. The Administration’s reauthorization proposal would 

transform the field by increasing the focus on outcomes and career pathways that ensure 

that what students learn is more closely aligned with the demands of the 21st century 

economy. Like career academies, our proposal would create stronger linkages between high 

school and postsecondary education. 

o $8 billion Community College to Career Fund. Jointly administered by the Departments 

of Education and Labor, this fund would provide competitive grants to community college 

partnerships and States to support the development or expansion of training programs 

designed to meet employer needs for skilled workers, including the needs of companies 

seeking to bring back American jobs from overseas.