New CTE model is a plus for schools and students

When vocational and work-based learning is paired with rigorous academic learning, the results can be amazing, as in the case of students at Spruce Creek High School in Port Orange, Fla.

In just one year, students who had been among the lowest performing students at the high school showed significant academic gains compared to other students at their school and at other high schools in the county. Those previous low performers were enrolled in the Academy of Information Technology and Robotics (AITR), part of the Ford Next Generation Learning (NGL) network, an initiative of the Ford Motor Company Fund.

“My parents wished they had something like this when they were growing up. [If everyone attended a school like AITR,] I think there would be a lot of people who would be more successful than they are now. They would have better jobs, better education, and they would just be overall better,” said AITR student Alec Davis.