Story: The Greene County Career Academy which is a part of the Iowa Central Community College system provides an opportunity for a group of students from different school districts to enroll in a specific set of courses associated with a designated career area. The Academy provides clear and precise career pathways through a specific sequence of courses. It allows school districts to pool resources and instruction and as a result provide more educational opportunities to students. The Academy allows students to study all the basic courses AND get a skill they will keep for a lifetime... all while getting a head start on a career path. National Credentialing is available where applicable, such as the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) and OSHA 10. If accepted, students may participate in two different career pathways, over the course of two years. Students that are eligible to apply are Juniors, Seniors and all high school TAG students. Apprenticeship programs are available to select students and career pathways

Structure: Participating students will travel to the Greene County Career Academy 5 days a week and take part in a career pathway from 8:20 AM–11:00 PM each day. Students will take a specific sequence of courses that will provide skills and an educational base that will allow students to either transfer these college credits into an academic program at the post-secondary level, or seek employment. Students have the opportunity to gain college credit courses in a discipline that interests them, while still attending high school. These career pathways are designed to lead into multiple college programs giving the most flexibility to students who participate. Students will also participate in an Orientation course and a College Experience (1 college credit) course to help acclimate them to the expectations and schedule of each career pathway as well as expose each student to different aspects of postsecondary education including topics such as college applications, financial aid, housing, and entrance requirements.

Student Commitment: Students that wish to participate and are accepted into the Greene County Career Academy are committing a full academic year to the career pathway. This means they will attend the academy 5 days a week, for the entire school year. The student will also be held to the same standards that a regular college student is held, and will follow Iowa Central academic calendar. They will be held accountable to all college policies and procedures that are listed in the Iowa Central student handbook, including our Administrative Withdrawal policy which states a student will be withdrawn from a class if he/she misses 25% or more of that class’ scheduled class meetings. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in industry tours, access to guest speakers and possible job shadowing, apprenticeships for select career pathways, as well as college visits and career fairs.

Savings and Scholarships: By participating in a career pathway, students have access to college credits that can save them both time and money when it comes to entering an academic program at the post-secondary level. Based on 2018-19 Iowa Central tuition rates, students can save themselves and their parents between $2,562 (14 credits) and $3,111 (17 credits), not to mention the savings on the text books, materials and supplies which can average between $400 and $1,000 a year, depending on the career pathway. As another incentive, all students that participate and complete a career pathway will be issued a $500 career academy scholarship that can be used if they enroll as a full time college student at Iowa Central Community College after their high school graduation.