Originally published on UBTech.
Career Academy Utah (CAU) representatives visited Uintah Basin Technical College recently to explore how their online students can dual enroll and earn college credit at UBTech.
CAU launched its online platform in 2022, offering an industry-focused and career-minded curriculum. Currently, students in kindergarten through 8th grade can attend Career Academy. For the 2023- 2024 academic year the online school will expand to include 9th grade students.
Their ongoing plan to offer enrollment to high school students led CAU officials to visit UBTech.
“We found that technical colleges have a similar mission,” said Bonita Teasley, executive director and head of schools for Career Academy.
“Being a statewide school, we can’t be everywhere at once and we need to find partnerships that will allow our students to take advantage of local hands-on education to align with industry needs,” Teasley said.
The creation of Career Academy Utah began when leaders of industry in Utah became concerned with the lack of a qualified workforce. Todd Bingham, president of Utah Manufacturers Association; Rikki Hrenko-Browning, president of Utah Petroleum Association; Kelvyn Cullimore president of Bio Utah; and Brian Somers, president of Utah Mining Association, came together with the desire to create a flexible online school with students graduating with Career Readiness Education certifications.
The framework and most of the curriculum for the online Career Academy came from the education management company, K12 (also known as Stride), which provides education to many online K-12 schools.
“CAU enrollment is growing,” said Teasley.
Career Academy currently has students residing in the Uintah Basin and rural Utah is viewed as a target market for students for the new charter school, said Teasley.
“We are pleased to partner with other educational institutions,” said UBTech President Aaron Weight. “We want to continue to show the power of technical education to as many Utah residents as possible and quickly align students with high-paying careers.”
UBTech and Career Academy Utah are planning to forge a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to allow students to utilize on-hands training opportunities available at UBTech. It will be their first such agreement with a technical institution in Utah.
Students can enroll in UBTech as early as the summer before their 9th-grade year. Career Academy Utah, an online charter school, met with UBTech on how their online students can enroll to take advantage of gaining hands-on skills. Students attending CAU can dual enroll at UBTech and earn college credit.
For more information on Career Academy of Utah, visit cau.k12.com.
