GREENSBORO, N.C. — Guilford County Schools' Choice Schools and Programs are preparing students to be job-force ready. 

What You Need To Know

  • Guilford County Schools has over 60 programs in the Choice Schools and Programs initiative

  • Students in these programs can start working in their fields by their senior year

  • The application period for Choice Schools and Programs closes Feb. 23

Andrews High School in High Point has two choice programs that students can apply for: Andrews Academy of Health Sciences and the Aviation Academy. 

In both programs students get hands-on experience in their field. 

“In case of emergencies, we're like first responders,” Sydney Hernandez said.

She and two classmates have already passed the certified nursing assistant exam.

“We're able to know what we're supposed to do, what precautions to take, so that people can be safe,” she said.

In the aviation program, students get to fly planes using a simulator. Aleiah Martin, a junior, says she wants to be a pilot. 

Martin says there’s not a lot of Black pilots. In fact, only 3.4% of U.S airline pilots are Black, and women make up 4.6%, according to the 2022 report Breaking Barriers for Women in Aviation: Flight Plan for the Future by the Women in Aviation Advisory Board.

“One of my goals in joining aviation is to inspire people like me or just other people in general to join aviation and to help with the shortage," Martin said.

In the health sciences fields, these students will help fill a nursing shortage that is expected in the next decade. According to the UNC School of Nursing, there will be a shortage of 12,500 nurses in 2033. 

“The career preparedness courses are important for students on this level,” Dr. Dorsel Edwards said. “If we can engage them while they're young and keep their interest throughout this program and other programs throughout the county career education programs, then we are building the future for all of our students in health care.”

Students in both programs feel a sense of responsibility because they are doing work that not many other students are doing. 

Both of these programs are a part of the Choice Schools and Programs, which is intended to give students job experience and enable them to start working in their field by their senior year. The application period for Choice Schools and Programs closes Feb. 23.