District reports big gains in CTE and online program success with Acellus

District staff delivered a presentation on career technical education (CTE) pathways and the district's Acellus virtual academy, describing curriculum expansion, program uses, and measurable outcomes.

Presenters said the district now offers eight on-campus CTE pathways (biomedical, construction, culinary, computer science, VAPA/arts, digital media, film production, and engineering) while also providing online CTE pathways (electrical, HVAC, plumbing, information management, STEM, accounting, business management and agriculture). The presenters reported purchasing 212 Acellus licenses and that those licenses are in heavy use at the high school; roughly 80+ students used Acellus on campus for credit recovery or schedule conflicts this semester and about 110 accounts were used off-campus in blended or full-virtual arrangements.

On outcomes, staff contrasted the previous platform (Apex) with Acellus: under Apex about 75.9% of courses were passing in the first progress report; with Acellus, despite increased course usage, the passing rate rose to about 94.9%. "Just in summer school last year, out of the 140 students, a 128 of those a 140 finished with being on track," a program presenter said while summarizing gains in credit recovery and course completion. Staff also noted a recent $60,000 grant supporting SPED integration within the Acellus platform and described plans to expand "special lessons" and project-based portfolios tied to virtual CTE offerings.

Trustees praised the work, called the program "fantastic," and asked about interdistrict enrollment and custodial vendor relationships for program delivery. Staff noted that Acellus enrollment requires students to be enrolled in the district (interdistrict transfers are possible once approvals are obtained) and emphasized continued attention to equitable access for ELD and SPED students.