St. Cloud High Schools Propose Adding Career Academy Pathways

ST. CLOUD -- High school students in St. Cloud could soon have another opportunity for broad career exploration.

As part of a continued focus on building college and career readiness, the St. Cloud Area School District is looking at adding three career academies.

Director of Career and College Pathways Leah Sams says the goal is to give all students the skills they need to be successful after graduation.

We want students to know who they are, what they want, and help them prepare to take the next steps towards their future. We decided that exposure to skills, careers, and professional networking is priority for the students to create and execute their post-high school plans.

Using the Minnesota Department of Education’s career wheel, already existing courses were broken down into the following pathways: Business, Entrepreneurship, Communication, and Arts (BECA), Health Services, Human Services, and Hospitality (HHH), and Manufacturing, Engineering, and Natural Resources (MENR).

Students would need to complete two foundational courses and two elective courses inside of one of the academies to be considered a pathway completer.

Sams says students will not be required to select an academy and would have the opportunity to switch academies during class registration.