Accelerated Career (Option B)
Accelerated Career
Georgia State Law has established a non-traditional, graduation path that allows high school students the ability to earn a high school diploma with a reduced number of required high school classes. Students are required to earn 24 credits to graduate on the traditional diploma. The Accelerated Career diploma requires that students earn nine specific credits in high school paired with two technical certificates of credit (TCC), one technical diploma, or an associate’s degree through the dual enrollment program.
The Accelerated Career Diploma requires a student to have a definite plan for his or her future. It also requires a solid work ethic and willingness to pass classes at the high school and the college. Good attendance and reading email is vital to a student’s success. A student pursuing the Accelerated Career Diploma must work closely with the high school counselor.
The Accelerated Career Diploma is best suited for students who have no desire to earn a 4 year degree in the future. It is also important to know that the Accelerated Career diploma is not an “easy” route. In many cases, the college-level CTAE courses that the student will take have expectations that are more rigorous and less flexible than a high school course. For students that have attendance issues or do not attend to the demands of the high school courses, success in the Accelerated Career program will be very difficult without a change of approach
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Only students who have firm plans for career goals should consider this diploma option.
Interested students will need to meet with their school counselor to begin initial discussions about whether this diploma is a good option. Upon learning more, if the student wants to change his or her diploma to the Accelerated Career Diploma, the student’s counselor can set up a meeting with parent(s), the district Accelerated Career Coordinator and the Dual Enrollment coordinator at the high school.
Upon the completion of this meeting and after all documents have been signed, then the student is officially declared as being on the Accelerated Career Diploma path
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Students who graduate on the Accelerated Career Diploma will have completed the following high school courses:
- · 2 credits of core English- One English credit AND one English credit with Milestone Test tied to it (Literature 2)
- · 2 credits of core math- Algebra I and another core math course (Support math cannot count)
- · 2 credits of core science- Biology and one core science course
- · 2 core social studies classes- World History, US History, Economics or American Government
- · Health and Personal Fitness (3 JROTC credits can be substituted for Personal Fitness)
AND
2 eligible Technical Career Certificates (TCCs) from the technical college: Accelerated Career Pathways – TCSG | Technical College System of Georgia, a technical diploma or an associate’s degree in applied science.
While all of these are options, the reality is that there are a few cohort programs that are offered through Sims and Lanier Tech to Barrow County students that make it convenient for students. The possible options are listed below.
Early Childhood:
Lanier Technical College -Early Childhood Care and Education Basics Certificate Program
Lanier Technical College - Child Development Specialist Certificate ProgramCriminal Justice:
Lanier Technical College - Criminal Justice Specialist Certificate Program
Criminal Just Fundamentals (CJ71)Automotive:
Lanier Technical College - Automotive Electrical/Electronic Systems Technician Certificate Program
Lanier Technical College - Automotive Engine Performance Technician Certificate ProgramDesign and Media Production Technology:
Lanier Technical College - Design & Media Production Specialist Certificate Program
Lanier Technical College - Graphic Design & Prepress Certificate ProgramAutomation Systems:
Lanier Technical College - Industrial Motor Control Technician Certificate Program
Lanier Technical College - Industrial Electrician Certificate ProgramWelding:
Lanier Technical College - Basic Shielded Metal Arc Welder Certificate Program
Lanier Technical College - Gas Metal Arc Welder Certificate ProgramOnline Only Options-
Health Information Technology, Cybersecurity, or Computer Programming (All require more than one school year to complete and are not on a cohort model).
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Students may take CTAE, Dual Enrollment courses as early as 10th grade. Students must have a 2.0 GPA or better to be accepted. For students who have below a 2.0 GPA, Lanier Tech will allow a student to take the Accuplacer and score at the Certificate Level in Reading, Writing and Arithmetic.
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For Traditional Diploma students, Dual Enrollment funding is capped at 30 hours of college credit. After that, Traditional students must use HOPE Grant funds or pay out of pocket.
Accelerated Career Diploma students are allowed to take UNLIMITED Dual Enrollment classes within their major before they graduate from high school. This would allow a student to progress beyond the certificates into the Technical Diploma or an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science from the college.
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Please reach out to your high school counselor to set up a time to learn more.