2007 Highlights

Schools Need to Prepare for High Speed Future, Says Ed Barlow, Keynote Speaker

Ed Barlow, Futurist With increasingly blurry lines separating the physical and the virtual world, educators need to prepare the next generation for an era of rapid change and the domination of advanced technology. Read more...

Senator Don Gaetz As State Senator and former Okaloosa Superin-
tendent of Schools Don Gaetz explained, the CHOICE program was started in Okaloosa schools to fulfill the need for relevant career education that allowed students to prepare for both college and the work world.

Ray Sansom, House Speaker-designee Nineteen counties are already on board, thanks to the close partnership CHOICE enjoys with Workforce Florida and the local business communities, as well as the legislative efforts of Gaetz and House Speaker-designee Ray Sansom. The initiative also enjoys the endorsement of the Department of Education.

CHOICE Replication Meeting Ten (10) counties currently implementing CHOICE replications were represented at the Summit. They were provided quality assurance and technical assistance along with opportunities to gather information about future funding, DOE issues and state legislation.

Going Global: Website Visitors
(Click Map to Enlarge)

Banner Centers

Banner Center of Excellence Partners

Welcome to Employ Florida's
Banner Center of Excellence
Career Academies/Secondary

CAPE Visitors

New Initiative To Strengthen Career Education

Former Lt. Governor announces new initiative, December 2006

The innovative Okaloosa CHOICE Institutes focus on collaboration and partnerships along with rigor and relevance in research-based curriculum leading to national certifications.

Workforce Florida, Inc. has awarded $1 million to Okaloosa County for the establishment of the Banner Center of Excellence for Secondary Career Academies, creating a model for career education for the entire state of Florida.

“Florida’s young people will have unprecedented opportunities as they enter the workforce prepared.” (Former Lt. Governor, Toni Jennings)

Haas Center Publishes 2007 Needs Assessment
Report for Career Academies

Key Components of Secondary Academies

Industry Certifications and Partnerships

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School District Partnerships
with Workforce Development Boards and Economic Development Agencies

Post-Secondary Articulation Agreements

Kendra Price was the only female to make the trip with her CHOICE Aviation class to Embry-Riddle. She plans on studying to be a pilot there this fall.

The high school student is using
AUTOCAD to draw some orthographic
views of an engineering item. Engineering students draw their ideas using AUTOCAD to explain them to others.

CHOICE IT students answered questions about their program, which prepares them to become web designers, programmers or network technicians. Some of them have outsourced certain projects to India.