High school students who attend career academies -- small, specialized programs within larger schools that blend traditional academics with vocational learning -- earn higher incomes on average than their peers in other high schools, a national study released Monday reported.
As school administrators emphasize college preparation, the report's findings dispute the often-heard criticism that vocational programs deter students from pursuing college and push them toward low-paying jobs.
"It does not need to be an 'either-or' proposition" between academics and career-focused teaching, said James Kemple, the report's author. "We are seeing evidence that this choice need not be made."
Instead, the study -- which included a Santa Ana career academy -- found that students who attend academies are as likely to enter two- or four-year college programs as non-academy students, while the academies provide a significant earning boost to recent graduates in the labor market.
Kemple emphasized that the academies should not be viewed as a substitute for higher education since college graduates, over time, will earn more than those who attend only high school.
The eight-year study by MDRC, a nonpartisan education and social policy research group, followed more than 1,400 students on nine campuses throughout high school and the four years after their expected graduation.
The statistics reflected the experiences of students such as those at Valley High School's Global Academy of Finance in Santa Ana -- one of four California schools in the study.
Like other California academies, the Global Academy serves many students who face economic and learning challenges in pursuing high school diplomas.
Many of the estimated 2,500 career academies nationwide serve underprivileged communities. Functioning as an intimate school-within-a-school, each academy begins in either the ninth or 10th grade and usually enrolls 150 to 200 students.
Academy students maintain a regular academic course load while also taking classes in their program area. Internships, job shadowing and guest lectures from local industry leaders are built into the curriculum to prepare students for the workforce.
Santa Ana's Global Academy, for example, admits 50 sophomores each year. Like all 290 California academies, at least half of the enrollees come from low-income families or have poor academic records. In the program, they become versed in the principles of accounting, real estate, banking, insurance and investment finance.
