Saturday, November 18, 2006

Cleveland Schools Career Fields Program

Cleveland Schools Aims to Help Students Prepare for Life After High School

All Cleveland Schools high schools have developed the Career Fields path of study to help students choose and succeed in higher education, work, and life after high school. The Career Fields places occupations into paths that share common skills. This allows teachers and students to combine educational study with more technical instruction. The six career paths chosen by Cleveland Schools are: Arts and Communications, Business and Management & Information Technology, Environmental and Agricultural Systems, Health Services, Human Resources/ Services, and Industrial and Engineering Systems. Following an educational path allows students to plan for a career after high school or a two-year technical or associate degree, or a four-year college degree. Cleveland Schools’ Career Fields provides the elective courses, in addition to the core requirements that will prepare them for the career of their choice.

Each Career Field is a part of a Career Pathway Certificate Programs, the only difference between these and the regular high school curriculum is that Career Pathway students may enter the workforce immediately after graduation from high school. When entering the ninth grade in the Cleveland Schools students can choose to enter the Individual Career Plan. This allows students in the Cleveland Schools to have a greater understanding of who they are, have a potential career path that is grounded in their personal skills and interests, and put together an educational plan in high school that will help them achieve their dream of a successful career.

The Six Career Pathways in the Cleveland Schools Career Fields Program

The Arts and Communications Career Field focuses on those careers that pertain to the arts in some way. Such job opportunities in the path include: vocal & instrumental music; visual and media arts; theater and film; journalism and literature; mass media, TV/radio and broadcasting; advertising, public relations, graphic design, printing/publishing, telecommunications and technical writing.

The Business, Management & Information Technology Field pathway provides training in high skilled world of business, management and administration as well as marketing, finance accounting, and data processing. Students who follow this path usually have a strong background in math, science and technical skills.

The Environmental and Agricultural Systems Career Field trains students for opportunities in agriculture, the environment and natural resources. It includes agricultural science, earth sciences, environmental sciences as well as service, research, education and production. Some careers to consider are agriculture, earth sciences, environmental studies, fisheries management, animal care, forestry, lawn care, plant care, floral work, horticulture, and wildlife management.

The Health Services Career Field path offers students education in health and treatment of injuries and disease and includes service, research, education and manufacturing areas of the health industry. There are a variety of jobs in the health services field including: working in medicine, dentistry, nursing, therapy and rehabilitation, nutrition, fitness and hygiene.