| WS/FCS Career Center | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 910 Highland Court Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101 |
|
| Information | |
| School type | Alternate High School |
| School board | Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools |
| Superintendent | Donald L. Martin, Jr., Ed.D |
| Principal | Dennis Moser, Ed.D |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 2085 (2010) |
| Language | English |
| Area | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Maroon and Grey (unofficial) |
| Website | www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cc |
The Career Center is a high school located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It offers an extension to the regular high school program. Classes offered include Advanced Placement courses, career and technical education (CTE) courses, as well as English and other classes too small to be held at the regular high schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools program, such as Japanese and Chinese. It also offers extended day classes, which are classes held after school that allow students to "make up" a failed class in order to graduate. It leases its building to Gardner-Webb Technical University and Forsyth Technical Community College at night.
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Students come from the 10 main high schools in the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools system. Most students typically spend about half a day at the Career Center, either in the morning or afternoon, taking one or more Advanced Placement or a career-related class. Several honors and regular level classes are also offered. Bus transportation is provided at certain times to and from home schools, and some students drive. Students spend the rest of the day at their "home" school. Some students have all of their classes at the Career Center; schedules vary from student to student. The Bell Schedule is as follows:
| Period | Time |
|---|---|
| 1st | 8:00 – 8:58* |
| 2nd | 9:14* - 10:00 |
| 3rd | 10:03 – 10:48 |
| 4th | 10:51 - 11:36* |
| 5th | 11:36 – 12:24 |
| 6th | *12:45 – 1:30 |
| 6th | 1:33 – 2:18 |
| 8th | 2:21 – 3:06* |
*Transportation to and from home schools is provided at this time.
The Career Center offers a unique experience for the students that choose to attend it. Career classes have contracted with local businesses such as electricians for students with hands-on experience that are interested in working after high school. Many teachers at Career Center are experts in their fields, some of whom have taught their class since its inception. The CTE courses work hands on in the fields they are studying. For example, the Auto Tech class will actually repair vehicles, either from the school system or from people who volunteer to take them there, for free, the Early Childhood Education course actually operates a daycare, Teacher Cadet students will work in elementary schools during their second semester, the Construction Technology class constructs a house every year for Habitat for Humanity, and the Advanced-level cosmetology students will actually take customers.
Beyond academics, Career Center also provides a collegiate atmosphere for students. Students enrolled in the AP classes strive to achieve higher than those found at normal high schools. Many students are granted travel periods to extend time management responsibilities while providing time to study, socialize, or relax. Because of the nature of the program, with most kids only attending the school for part of the day, the school does not offer regular meals. Food may, however, be purchased from the Culinary Arts class.
Despite it's non-traditional setting, several clubs exist at Career Center, including Robotics Club, Physics Club, and HOSA.
Since the Career Center is not a main high school in the WS/FCS system, it devotes a certain amount of time to attracting new students. Recent items include bumper stickers, glow in the dark T-shirts, carabiners, and hoodies with the Career Center logo on it. The Career Center sends seniors to the main high schools in the system with presentations to entice rising sophomores and juniors to apply for classes there.
The career center offers classes related to specific fields. These classes, usually about 1.5 hours (two periods) long, are designed to help students gain a better understanding in that specific field, and better prepares them for it. They are taught by professionals in that specific industry. They include:
These classes are more difficult, considering they are on a college level. Students can receive college credit for these classes only if they take the AP exam at the end of the year. Career Center has a higher percentage of students achieve proficient scores (a score of 3 or above) than both the national and state averages on almost all AP exams.[1]
The Career Center's facilities will be moved by the 2nd semester of the 2011–2012 school year.
Forsyth County passed an educational bond in the fall of 2008 providing the money for Forsyth Tech to purchase the building that currently houses the WS/FCS Career Center and Administrative Center.
The administrative center has been moved to two buildings previously occupied by Hanes north of town off Hanes Mill Road.
A new and larger Career Center will be built on the site where Kennedy Middle School currently sits. This campus will eventually house three separate educational programs. First, the current Kennedy building will remain and will be remodeled to become a career technical high school. Second, Carter Vocational High School will be built on the southwest corner of the site. Third, there will be two buildings that will house Career Center. A three-story 'L-shaped' building will be constructed on the southeast corner, and a two-story 'U-shaped' building will be built north of the three-story building.