Academy students and teachers will also visit college campuses, host guest speakers, and connect with mentors from the business community. By the time they graduate, students will be fully prepared to enter a two- or four-year college and be productive members of the workforce.
CBIA staff and consultants are also actively involved in two career academies at Waterbury's Wilby High School—the Health and Human Services Academy and the Technology Academy—as well as the Technology Academy at Crosby High School. By providing guest speakers, organizing career expos, and coordinating job shadowing and company visits for students, we help students connect their work in the classroom with potential careers that await them.
CBIA's Work with Career Academies
At the invitation of Dr. Steven Adamowski, Hartford’s superintendent of schools, CBIA helped create the Academy of Engineering and Green Technology (AoEGT) at Hartford Public High School. CBIA staff and member companies, along with community members, students, and representatives from Hartford public schools, Connecticut colleges, and universities planned and designed this small learning community.
On August 25th, 2008, 360 city youth in grades 10-12 entered the new academy. All students wear the AoEGT business casual uniform—black pants belted at the waist and tan polo shirts with the school's logo—which ensures that they are appropriately dressed for visitors and off-site events.
During their senior year, all AoEGT students are expected to complete and submit at least two college applications. This effective and inexpensive strategy was recently used by a high school in Maine to raise college attendance rates. (Although Maine has high graduation rates it has low college attendance.) Seniors will also complete internships, organized by CBIA; juniors will participate in job shadowing; and sophomores will go on company visits and tour worksites.
