By Lindley Lund
USD 475
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. – Junction City High School (JCHS) is celebrating 20 years of providing students a head start in their future endeavors through its Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways.
Developed in 2002, the school’s Career Academy structure allows students to choose one of three career academies their sophomore year: Business, Public Service and Hospitality (BPSH); Science, Engineering and Health (SEH); and Fine Arts and Human Services (FAHS). Each academy provides career clusters and courses corresponding to the CTE pathways, where students take a sequence of courses focusing on their career interests.
“We help students see the ‘why’ of their education while at JCHS,” said Becky Coy, CTE administrator at JCHS. “Our program helps students find an interest in a job field to pursue outside of high school.”
After finding a career pathway of interest, JCHS students can apply for an internship in that career. This allows them to explore that position in an in-depth, hands-on approach to learning and observation, with employers across the community. This year, JCHS is piloting a program with Fort Riley, allowing students to intern at Irwin Army Community Hospital and the Fort Riley Public Affairs Office.
JCHS students can choose among 14 career pathways: Business Finance; Law, Public Safety, and Security; Restaurant and Event Management; Web and Digital Communications; Marketing; Apparel Production; Comprehensive Agricultural Science; Health Science; Mobile Equipment; Production; Construction and Design; A/V Communications; Early Childhood Development; Teaching and Learning.