Where did the concept of Centers of Excellence Come From?

A school district in Okaloosa, a northern county in Florida, realized that students were not being properly educated and prepared for the world of work or for postsecondary educational opportunities.

The district designed a program it called CHOICE, which created career academies in its high schools, offering industry certifications in fields which offered high wage, high skilled jobs in the county.

Due to the enormous success of this program—the school district went from a state ranking of #27 out of 67 counties to #1 in the state in 2006—the Florida legislature has mandated all public high schools adopt the career academy concept across the state.

In Pinellas County, this program is named the Centers of Excellence, and this website provides an overview of the program.

Click here to view a timeline of the Centers of Excellence program.