New Hanover County’s school board heard plans Dec. 1 for a non-traditional high school with emphasis on career readiness and although the board won’t vote on the proposal until its next meeting, board member Bruce Shell called the concept “one of the most exciting things I’ve seen.”
New Hanover and Pender County students enrolled in the school would take classes at Cape Fear Community College’s north campus and, New Hanover County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Markley said, in addition to a high school diploma graduates from the program earn “a certificate that they can take and turn into employment.”
The proposed curriculum blends core classes with career preparation like internships, job shadowing and project-based learning. School advisors would help eighth and ninth graders develop a career pathway based on their learning style, aptitude and interests.
Laverne Pickett, career technical education supervisor, listed plumbing, HVAC repair, auto body repair and network engineering as examples of career paths students could pursue. She said she tells parents it is cheaper to let students explore and narrow down a career path in high school instead of in college.
“When they start exploring options in college, it is costing somebody money every time they change that major,” she said. “This gives them the opportunity to explore without losing anything.”
Vice chair Jeannette Nichols wanted to know whether students would still be able to participate in sports. Pickett said they should be able to pursue extracurricular activities at their districted high school but the details haven’t been worked out yet.
Shell said the possibility of creating this type of program was one of the reasons he ran for office. Another important element of the program, he added, should be to “connect with the middle schoolers so they can get excited about this.”
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