By Megan Cullins, contributor
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the Career Academy as the Career Center, incorrectly stated that Rockingham County students would attend the Career Academy, and misattributed a quote from Michael Richards to John Downey. The article has been corrected.
With signatures and a handshake, the president of Blue Ridge Community College and the superintendent of Harrisonburg City Public Schools formally established the Career Academy for city high school students.
Blue Ridge Community College and Harrisonburg City Public Schools have created a program for students in Harrisonburg to attend and get credit for college classes and career certificates.
“This is a collegiate or pre-collegiate pathway to a certification,” said Blue Ridge Community College President John Downey. “Our students will have advanced standing toward an associate’s degree. That’s something both technical centers can’t provide.”
This upcoming school year will be the first year with classes including early childhood education, agricultural, human services, computers, and healthcare.
The program will expand to include more courses in the coming years. The credits that students obtain from these courses can be transferable to some two or four year universities.
The connection between the community college and city school district strengthened last year, as the city schools sought to expand its career education options after withdrawing from its partnership with the Rockingham County Public Schools in operating Massanutten Technical Center.
This program does not replace the technical centers in the area, but is rather another program available to students.
Since Harrisonburg City Public Schools pulled out of the agreement for the Massanutten Technical Center, the district has been developing its own technical education program. However, the district can still pay to send its students to Massanutten Technical Center for specific training.
“There’s certain programs that are at MTC that we haven’t set up for ourselves yet,” said Michael Richards, Harrisonburg City Public Schools superintendent. Richards said they want to leverage more opportunities for students.
Richards said that many Harrisonburg students don’t imagine themselves as college students when they enter high school. Students will be able to come to a college campus and experience the environment while gaining dual enrollment college credits.
“This academy represents our commitment to helping every student find a path, pursue a purpose, and build a successful future,” Richards said.
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