Nearly 90 area high-schoolers earned a Gateway Technical College technical diploma, certificate or other credential in the 2021-22 Academic Year through the college’s high school academies program, an effort to provide ways for students to gain career skills and earn college credits before graduating high school.
A total of 105 students completed a high school academy from 17 different area high schools in the 2021-22 Academic Year, with all but 15 earning credentials in six different program areas. Last year, 47 students completed an academy.
Katie Graf, Gateway director of High School Partnerships, says the academies give students the opportunity to gain industry-recognized credentials and college credits before they graduate high school. Many students have even secured positions at area companies with the skills they’ve gained through the programs, she adds.
“The academies have a positive impact on those students on the skills and jobs they’ve gained, but also on the community which needs skilled workers for area businesses,” said Graf.
As an example, she said 100 percent of the students who earned a CNC credential are working in the field. Students earned a diploma or certificate in the following program areas, as well as the number earning the credential:
- Welding/Maintenance & Fabrication technical diploma: 39
- Introductory Industry 4.0 certificate: 19
- Security Professional certificate: 18
- CNC Operator certificate: 6
- Nursing Assistant technical diploma: 4
- Advanced Gas Metal Arc Welding certificate: 2
Students in the academies earn high school as well as college credits. The high-schoolers attend classes on a Gateway campus with a Gateway instructor which are set up in a cohort model, meaning the same group of students take the same classes as they work their way to earning a diploma or certificate.
A celebration was held to recognize students for their accomplishments. For more information on the academies, go to www.gtc.edu/hsacademies