California Career Academies and Urban School Success: Listening to the Voices of High School Youth of Color

Presentation Category: 
California Partnership Academy Model
Session Type: 
CPA Session
Presentation Description: 
This presentation focuses on the perspectives and experiences of African American, Asian, and Latino high school students enrolled in 2 California Career Academies. The presentation pays close attention to the cultural and institutional processes that impact their social and academic engagement. In this presentation, I will highlight that, despite poverty and urban school inequality, the Career Academy model fosters optimism and school success among low-income minority students. However, students’ experiences differ within each academy context. Some Career Academy structures are able to promote positive student relations, whereas others simply reflect the status quo. This phenomenon is primarily due to an uneven recruitment process, the resulting student population of each academy, and the differing Career Academy cultures and institutional mechanisms. In sum, this presentation suggests that Career Academies constitute a potentially successful school reform strategy, despite their limitations.
Describes Your Focus: 
Support Systems for Students and Teachers (for example: career guidance, counseling, academic support, peer support, transition programs, advisories, AVID-like programs, etc.; and support for the teaching team such as team curriculum retreats, development of professional learning communities, and professional development opportunities)

Session Time

Monday 3:00pm to 4:15pm
Venue: Sacramento Convention Center
Room: 204

Presentor/s

Gilberto Q. Conchas, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of the College and Career Academy Support Network
University of California, Irvine