Joyce Grainger, Apex Business Alliance Chairperson

Diane Cadavid, Career Development Coordinator

What is School-to-Career?

• It’s a county-wide initiative, philosophy, and method of delivering curriculum to students within the Standard Course of Study.
• Links classroom learning to real-world activities and experiences. STC helps make learning relevant.
• STC motivates students to excel academically in school while making wise career choices. It connects teachers and students to community resources.

School-to-Career & Business Alliance

• Business Alliances are the mechanism for STC.
• School-to-Career Involves:
• • Teachers – who work to integrate relevance into the core curriculum and academic rigor throughout all classes.
  • Business alliance members – who work at the school level to serve as a resource for teachers and administrators to support STC activities.

What is a Business Alliance?

• It's a collaborative partnership between community business leaders and educators at the middle and high schools.
• Apex Business Alliance brings together Apex Middle, Lufkin Road Middle, Salem Middle, Apex High School, and area businesses.

Purpose of the Business Alliance?

• To provide support and workplace realities for teachers and students and to be a catalyst for engaging businesses to prepare all students to be career focused and globally competitive.
• The career and life experience of business leaders provide students the relevancy between education and future careers.

Apex Business Alliance & School Improvement Plan (SIP)

• The ABA meets monthly to develop action steps towards meeting the goals aligned with the School Improvement Plan (SIP).
• Career-based alliance activities include:
• • Career Fairs / Guest Speakers
  • Practice Job Interviews / Resume Reviews
  • Job Shadow Host / Internship Sponsors
  • Business Ethics Discussions / Business Tours

Apex Business Alliance & Apex High School

Specific activities the ABA is involved with at AHS are:

• Career Connections;
• Health Science Service Project;
• Culinary Arts Herb Garden;
• Job Shadow Host;
• Class Presentations / Demonstrations;
• Business Spotlight; and
• Assistance within CTE program areas – Automotive Tech, Construction Tech, Health Sciences, & Culinary Arts.

Career Technical Education

• Career Technical Education (CTE) is an array of elective courses and programs that prepare students to succeed in virtually any industry.
• CTE provides students:
• • Elective credit towards “Future Ready” graduation requirements.
  • Academic subject matter taught with relevance to the real world.
  Employability skills, from job-related skills to workplace ethics.
  • Career pathways that link secondary and postsecondary education.
  • Training that leads to high-skill, high-wage, high-demand occupations.

Career Technical Education (CTE) at Apex High School (AHS)

• CTE is for ALL students – helping them to become globally competitive.
• Apex High School offers the following program areas in CTE:
• • Business & Information Technology;
  • Family & Consumer Science;
  • Health Occupations;
  • Marketing; and
  • Trade & Industrial Education.

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