As the graduation rate for Georgia students involved in Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education (CTAE) has risen to 97.18 percent in Georgia, Harris County High School (HCHS) celebrates its CTAE graduation rate of 97.22 percent.
“It’s incredibly important that we introduce kids to possibilities for their lives after high school, that we make education relevant and give them a chance to explore the careers they’d like to pursue,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said in a press release from the Georgia Department of Education. “Year after year, the results of Georgia’s Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education program speak for themselves and show how essential it is that we continue to invest in career education.”
The state’s rate – which applies to students who complete a Career Pathway – exceeds the overall state graduation rate by 13.38 percentage points, underscoring the relevance and effectiveness of CTAE opportunities.
CTAE is designed to prepare students for their next step after high school. The 2020 placement rate for high school graduates who are Career Pathway completers – in postsecondary education or advanced training, in military service, or in employment six months following graduation – is 96.4 percent.
Across Georgia, CTAE programs deliver a high-school experience that prepares students for their lives after high school. Students can learn skills for real-world careers in more than 100 Career Pathways – from financial technology to flight operations – while earning recognized industry credentials and participating in work-based learning and apprenticeship opportunities. At HCHS, the CTAE program offers pathways in:
Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
Architecture & Construction
- Arts, Audio/Video Technology and Communication
- Business Management and Administration
- Computer Science/Information Technology (IT)
- Education and Training
- Government and Public Administration
- Health Science
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections, and Security
- Marketing
- Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics
- Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics
Career Pathways are for all students, no matter which path they plan to take. Pathway completers are prepared to pursue higher education, enter the military, accept an apprenticeship opportunity, or immediately begin their career. As an example of such opportunities, HCHS’s Construction program just received industry certification. Now, construction pathway completers can earn a certification that will be recognized nationally for positions.
Within the District, the county’s one middle school, Harris County Carver Middle School, offers programs that allow students to explore career areas in support of the high school’s pathways in the areas of Agriculture, Business Education, Computer Science and Engineering & Technology.
Georgia’s program is referred to as CTAE to include agricultural education and prepare students who will take part in Georgia’s leading industry.
