Career academies align clusters of courses around specific career areas, with a group of teachers collaborating on developing an integrated academic and vocational program for a student body with whom they work over a period of years.
Academies operate as schools within schools.
Career academy programs are designed to ensure that the program graduates are academically and technically proficient, have marketable job skills, and are academically prepared to enroll in postsecondary education. These academies offer a more academically rigorous curriculum that is designed to prepare students for both employment and postsecondary education. The academies span nine career fields including health professions, environmental technology, and automotive repair. Four NAF academies, the Academy of Finance, the Academy of Travel and Tourism, the Academy of Public Service, and the Academy of Manufacturing Services, enroll heterogeneous groups of students based on their interest in these career fields. The NAF Academies differ from the Philadelphia Academies in that students entering the program must have an established minimum grade-point average and a good attendance record.