“What will be my life’s work?”
Almost all soon-to-be high school graduates tackle this question. These students — with their energy, fresh thinking and curiosity — are your future workforce, and at 17- and 18-years old, they could already be cultivating career-defining knowledge and skills.
Thanks to a bond measure approved by voters in November 2016, Cherry Creek School District’s project to build the Career and Innovation Academy near Centennial Airport and the Bronco’s practice stadium in Dove Valley is well underway.
With a target opening in August 2019, businesses in the area can look forward to a refreshed labor pool rich with well-educated, eager candidates.
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The project’s mission, created in conjunction with the Colorado Workforce Development Council, is to ensure CO has a vast, highly-skilled, competitive workforce.
Students get real-world skills.
The school will serve eleventh and twelfth graders. Its method will test the idea of what education can look like. Many students leave high school with, at best, a foggy vision of their future – of what career they are most suited for and most eager to pursue. That’s in large part because they are not exposed to enough information about their options.
Businesses get job-ready candidates.
The curriculum will focus on seven key industries: advanced manufacturing, business services, culinary/hospitality, health services, infrastructure engineering, IT/STEM, and transportation.
All these paths have a pressing current and future need for passionate, well-educated workers. Students will get to see how their own interests and talents might play a role. They will also have the chance to get their hands dirty and meet influential leaders through off-site internships and apprenticeships.
Students will gain valuable experience and earn certifications, which means once they walk across that stage, high school diploma in hand, they will already have a head start, and whoever hires them can put their knowledge and skills to use immediately.
What’s good for the workforce is good for business.
The Career and Innovation Academy is committed to meeting needs: the needs of our growing economy, of businesses looking for the next generation of innovators, and the needs of young, bright minds eager to play an important role in CO’s future.
These students will understand how their unique skills and talents fit into the workforce. This means your candidates will be enthusiastic instead of timid, knowledgeable instead of intimidated, and confident instead of unsure. Denver South is eager to witness a new generation of students leaving high school not only well-educated, but prepared.
