The Integrated Classroom

As the labor market becomes increasingly specialized, career and technical education (CTE) helps students to develop skills that put them at the forefront of any specialized profession. Not only do our students develop skills specific to the media market, (eg. expertise and certification in media programs) they also develop soft skills that help them to market themselves and to be successful in the growing media market.

Students are regarded as developing professionals, receiving feedback as employees, asked to pitch ideas and present their work publicly.  Student production ranges from interdisciplinary projects to students participating as crowdsourced professionals, to media creation for school and community stakeholders.

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Academics
​First

• All academy projects are grounded in either English or SS common core standards
• College going culture
• Emphasis on keeping rigor high in all areas during media production
• Academy technology and assignments are used to serve standards-based learning

Professional
Expectations

• Revolving leadership and teamwork
• Ethical responsibility and legal responsibility
• Soft skills
• Demonstration of technical knowledge and skills through certification programs as well as academy work
• Technology as a tool
• Peer mentoring
• Effective communication with mentors and peers
• Portfolio-ready work

CTE alignment
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• Emphasis on “career ready” skills, i.e. speaking extemporaneously, soft skills
• Specific pathway emphasis on  analyzing design  and media analysis and using that info to inform own skills 
• Discussion of how advancing media arts affects historical movements, and political and social ideas
• Create a tone through use of media
• Learn to effectively evaluate their own, and each other’s work

Honors Credit
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• Honors is structured more in the traditional college-ready vein
• Costa’s levels of learning are used.
• High emphasis on reading comprehension and effective writing.
• Assignments tend to be conceptually broad and deep
• Sometimes involves work students are doing in class, but honors students are expected to take an extra media step