District to host career academy open houses early in 2022

Aida Mallard
·3 min read

Parents of eighth-graders interested in career and technology magnet programs offered by the Alachua County School District are encouraged to attend open houses that will be held to educate the public about what they offer.

The district has 15 career magnet programs that will host the open houses in January.

Shannon Ritter, di college and career pathways, career and technical department, said The open houses will be designed for eighth-graders and their families, but any middle school student can benefit from attending the open houses, said Shannon Ritter, the district's director of career and technical education.

John Lawson, right, a student in the Firefighter Academy at the Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School, puts on his bunker gear in this Gainevsville Sun file photo. Career and technical academies throughout the Alachua County School District will host open houses for middle school students in early 2022. [Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun]

Through career and technical programs, a student can work in a career magnet program for four years and become job ready while also earning a high school diploma and college credits.

Information about the January workshops are listed below:

• The Cambridge Program: 6 p.m. Jan. 11, Gainesville High School.

• Academy of Future Teachers: 6:30p.m. & 7:15 p.m. Jan. 11, Gainesville High School

*Academy of Health Professions: 7:15 p.m. Jan. 11, Gainesville High School.

• Academy of Finance: 6 p.m. Jan. 13, Buchholz High School.

• Academy of Entrepreneurship: 7 p.m. Jan. 13, Buchholz High School

• Institute of Culinary Arts: 6 p.m. Jan 20, Eastside High School.

• International Baccalaureate (IB) program: 7 p.m. Jan. 20 Eastside High School

• Academy of Agriscience : 6 p.m. Jan. 25, Santa Fe High School .

• Institute of Biotechnology: 7p.m. Jan.25, Santa Fe High School.

• Academy of Automotive Technology: 6 p.m. Jan. 26, Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School

• Academy of Fire & Emergency Medical Services: 6 p.m. Jan. 26, Professionals Academies Magnet at Loften High School

• Academy of Robotics and Engineering: 6 p.m. Jan. 26, Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School

• Institute of Graphic Art and Design: 6 p.m. Jan. 26, Professional Academies Magnet at Loften High School

• Academy of Criminal Justice: 6 p.m. Expo, 7 p.m. open house, both on Feb. 3 at Newberry High School

There will be displays for each of the programs and parents and students will have an opportunity for individual discussion with instructors. Also, students and their families may want to explore all the magnets and prepare for the open houses by narrowing their choices, Ritter said.

“Try to pick your top three programs and rank them by preference," Ritter said. “This is very important.We provide transportation to all the magnet programs. I don’t want a student to not pick a magnet because they think the school is too far away.”

The district uses an online process that allows families to apply for multiple programs with a single application, and 75% of the new students in each magnet program will be selected by the school, while 25% will be selected through a district-wide lottery program.

The application, magnet program requirements and other information are available at www.sbac.edu/magnet. Hard copies of the application are available at each school.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: District to host career academy open houses