Local High Schools Focusing On Student Career Paths
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Across North Texas there are now school districts designing campuses that focus specifically on getting students on a career path.
Tuesday CBS 11 News visited one such career campus in Grand Prairie, where teenagers aren't just hoping for jobs.... they're doing them.
They are 1,500 strong. The students at Dubiski Career High School are issued laptop computers instead of textbooks. But the kids are more concerned with being taught the skill of building and repairing laptops.
One the campus there is information technology in one setting, health, nursing and life-saving care in another.
There are even courses on how to lead a kitchen, for a restaurant or coffee shop.
Dubiski High School offers a collection of job training programs, woven into the seams of a traditional campus.
Former student Edgar Silva is headed to Texas A&M, but his access to an engineering internship started at Dubiski.
"I think there should be more of these types of schools," he said. "It prepares us for the workforce. It prepares us for problems when in the real world."
The school merges 11 career programs with comprehensive classroom instruction. But principal Vicki Villareal explained that the students select their path.
"Many walk away with certification in many areas, and they can go on to college to pursue that career, and work part-time in that same field -- getting more experience as they go along," she said.
There are other unique attributes at Dubiski High. On this campus the staffer and teachers are often individuals who completed careers they're now teaching students.
Gabrielle Cooksie is headed to college, but her career plan to be a doctor is part of the high school program.
But there are some ways Dubiski High is just like other North Texas schools – all students at the career school must still complete state academic tests.
