A concentrator is a student who has earned four or more technical credits in a Career Cluster, at least one of which is a completer course. The student may earn all four credits from foundation courses or three from foundation courses and one from enhancement courses for the Career Cluster.

Career Clusters identify pathways from secondary school to two- and four-year colleges, graduate school, and the workplace, so students can link what they learn in school and what they can do in the future. Career Clusters allow students to access a nationwide framework to help them better analyze their long- and short-term career goals, plan what to take in high school to begin to move toward those goals, and implement strategies for further education and work experience that will prepare them for high-skill, high-wage, high-demand careers in the 21st Century.

Career Clusters in the Alamance Burlington School System: Agricultural, Food & Natural Resources; Architecture and Construction; Arts, A/V Technology and Communications; Business Management and Administration; Finance; Health Sciences; Hospitality and Tourism; Human Services: Information Technology; Marketing; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Transportation

https://careertech.org/

The WorkKeys assessment is designed to measure students' career readiness as they prepare to enter the workforce by assessing their abilities in three core areas: Applied Mathematics, Locating Information and Reading for Information. Students' performance in these areas is meant to demonstrate their abilities to potential employers through the use of standardized, quantitative metrics. There are four certification levels: Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. All CTE Completers are required to take the WorkKeys assessment.

If students are Future Ready, meaning they have 4 qualifying math courses, 4 electives in a CTE Career Cluster achieving CTE concentrator status, a GPA of 2.5 or higher weighted and at least one industry credential: WorkKeys CRC at Silver level or above or another industry credential aligned with a CTE course of study, then they will have a Career Endorsement on their High School Diploma after graduation.

For more information on becoming a CTE Concentrator, talk with Ms. Davis, Career Development Coordinator or any of the CTE department members.