Career and Trades Academy (CTA) can complement a Pennsylvania school’s efforts to prepare students for graduation, postsecondary education, and the workforce through flexible, career-oriented online learning.

Pennsylvania’s Act 158 (alternate pathways to graduation) emphasizes multiple ways for students to demonstrate postsecondary readiness—not simply performance on Keystone Exams.

Depending on the student and the pathway, a career-focused coursework, career-related experiences, credentials, and other evidence can contribute to a student’s overall pathway and graduation plan.

Schools should determine how a particular CTA course or program can be applied within their locally established graduation requirements and the applicable PDE pathway requirements.

CTA offers virtual, online, asynchronous (with possibilities for synchronous) career-oriented courses and programs that can provide students with opportunities to:

* Explore career fields and occupations aligned with their interests and goals

* Develop practical career knowledge and workplace skills

* Connect academic learning to real-world careers

* Build evidence of career exploration and preparation

* Participate in flexible learning that can supplement a school's existing curriculum

* Access instruction from certified educators and professionals with expertise in their fields

* Participate in optional office hours and live Zoom instruction for additional support
* Add-on kits for a true hands-on, immersive learning experience

Pennsylvania specifically recognizes the importance of connecting academic and technical skills with real-world settings through industry-based learning and career preparation. PDE also identifies career awareness, preparation, readiness, and entrepreneurship as important components of standards-aligned career programming.

CTA can serve as a supplement to your existing academic and career-readiness programming —particularly when a school wants to expand career offerings without having to build every course internally. These courses and programs could be counted as elective credits, too.

Our online, asynchronous model gives schools flexibility in how they incorporate CTA into a student's schedule, while optional live Zoom lessons and office hours provide additional instructional support when desired.

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--> Important: CTA courses are not represented as automatically satisfying an Act 158 pathway requirement. The school must determine whether a particular course, assessment, credential, artifact, or experience meets the applicable Pennsylvania graduation pathway and locally established requirements.