WMS visits Kirkwood

The Kirkwood Washington County Regional Center hosted a group of Washington Middle School eighth-graders last week for a sneak peek tour of upcoming college credit in high school (CCHS) opportunities available to them during their upcoming high school years.

The grade students rotated through eight centers learning about the wide range of career academies offered at Washington County Regional. Students toured the patient care, automotive, manufacturing/robotics/welding, and construction labs, and interacted with a panel of 2022 student ambassadors about Kirkwood expectations and tips for success in dual college credit college coursework.

“This age group of students is on the cusp of a whole new chapter of their education,” Washington County Regional Center Director Tera Pickens said. “They are at that age when they begin thinking more concretely about their future possibilities and what they want their life after high school to look like. Career Academies and college credit in high school programming are an ideal way to begin exploring pathways and careers.”

Career exploration is an evolving experience for children, going from elementary-aged self-discovery and world exploration to determining a career or education plan in the latter years of high school. Washington County students have a wide-variety of career academies to explore while in high school.

The Kirkwood Washington County Regional Center will offer 11 career academies for high school students in grades 9-12 during the upcoming 2022-23 academic year. The college credit students earn at Kirkwood is dual credit, meaning that high school credit and college credit are earned simultaneously, at no cost to the student or their families.

Career Academies offered include patient care, automotive technology, advanced manufacturing with robotics & welding, architecture/construction/engineering (ACE), criminal justice, agriculture science, education, digital arts, social media & marketing, and liberal arts and technology.