Silver Spring, MD, August 7, 2013 – CMT (Country Music Television) supports an innovative approach to school redesign, The Academies of Nashville, as a business partner to McGavock High School, says Lucia Folk, Senior Director of Public Affairs for CMT. The Academies model incorporates one of the key principles of Career Technical Education (CTE)—employer engagement—into academic subjects as well.

In a new post on the Friends of CTE Blog Series, Folk discusses how The Academies of Nashville is engaging the business community to help drive change in the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools. According to Folk, “The Academies model provides a way for business partners to work alongside those on the frontlines educating our youth—our teachers and our school administrators—to make systemic change in our public schools.”

Folk views The Academies of Nashville model as especially powerful because it requires connectivity between what is taught in CTE classes to the curriculum in the academic subjects. All disciplines conduct common planning, and business partners reinforce the planning process at each stage.

After only three years of working with McGavock’s CMT Academy of Digital Design & Communication, CMT’s partnership is yielding positive results. Folk explained that they have seen considerable increases in their graduation rate, ACT scores, and the number of students who attend from outside of their zone.

Folk said, “The real magic of the Academies structure is that it is community-building at its core. McGavock is our school and we share the challenges and successes with our teachers, administrators, fellow business partners, and most importantly, our students.” The Friends of CTE Blog is a monthly guest blog piece hosted by the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium (NASDCTEc). The blog provides advocates – from business and industry to researchers and organizations – an opportunity to articulate their support for CTE. Guest bloggers provide their perspective on and experience with CTE as it relates to policy, the economy and education.

About NASDCTEc:
The National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education (NASDCTEc) was established in 1920 to represent the state and territory heads of secondary, postsecondary and adult career technical education (CTE) across the nation. NASDCTEc, through leadership, advocacy and partnerships, aims to support an innovative CTE system that prepares individuals to succeed in education and their careers, and poises the United States to flourish in a global, dynamic economy.