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It
has been our Board’s vision and great desire to increase the number of
students graduating from high school prepared for both college
entrance and the world of work that has provided our students 40 plus
career pathways for study in high school.
Our designation as a Ford Career
Academy Innovation Community is a tremendous acknowledgement of our
schools, our district, our partners and community for their strong
belief that e21 is the way to prepare our students for the 21st
Century.
I want to thank the Ford Motor
Company Fund for its investment in students and schools and for
promoting high-quality educational programs that value
problem-solving, innovation, and critical thinking and communication
skills.
One of my favorite quotations is
from our 32nd President, Franklin Roosevelt: “We cannot
always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for
the future.”
The Ford Motor Fund is an active
and important partner with educators in building our youth for the
future.
As districts around the state and
nation are decreasing enrollment in career and technical programs, I’m
proud to say that Sac City is going in the opposite direction. While
fewer than 25 percent of high school students nationwide have access
to career academies and classes, at Sac City every high school student
has access to a career pathway either through a small, theme-based
high school or through one of our Small Learning Communities.
Between 1993 and 2006, the California Department of Education reports,
that career and technical education classes decreased by approximately
30 percent. Over the past five years, our classes have increased by
almost 30 percent and we continue to increase the number that meets
University of California requirements.
As a
district, the intentions for our high school redesign initiative was
three fold: a) to provide high school students with a rigorous and
relevant curriculum, b) to personalize the high school experience and
c) to improve relationships among students and between students and
adults. We know that our high schools are better places for learning
today because of e21.
One
of the most exceptional aspects of our work has been developed by the
members of our Career Technical Preparation Department, specifically
our 5 entrepreneurs and the leadership of Mr. Mike Brunelle. It is
they that build relationships with the local businesses and support
our teachers and principals in the expansion of rich career
opportunities for students.
Our
Career and Technical Preparation Department’s great effort in building
partnerships with business provide our students hands-on experiences
that have added richness to their courses of study engage them in
relevant learning and add rigor to their content. In short, these
classes offer students the best of two worlds—top notch and rigorous
academic content and a very real, current application of that content
through a sequenced career path.
Through the great effort of this small team our students can select
options for study in the fields of Engineering & Industrial
Technology, Business & Information Technology, Human and Public
Services, Health, and Art, Media & Entertainment. It is this unique
model and this successful team that we honor and recognize.
I
also want to thank our many business partners for helping us create a
model that is preparing our students for success in the 21st
Century. We could not have implemented our robust high school redesign
without their help.
In
closing, let me assure you that we have learned much through our
reform. We continue to strengthen it through our current partnerships
and we continually seek new ones. This designation brings new
resources to our students and staff and re-energizes our commitment to
provide learning opportunities that ensure the success of every
student by name in Sacramento.
Click here to email Superintendent M. Magdalena
Carrillo Mejia, Ph.D.
Superintendent's Prior Messages
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