Connecting our students’ educational experiences to the world of work and preparing them for college, the workforce, and beyond is one of our primary goals at the San Diego County Office of Education.
Through the Career Technical Education program, students attending our Juvenile Court and Community Schools (JCCS) have access to courses in multiple industry sectors that cultivate interest, build knowledge, and develop skills for the future.
CTE pathways offered in JCCS are based on the California Department of Education’s (CDE) career pathways and reflect the model curriculum standards.
SDCOE's Juvenile Court and Community Schools offer a diverse range of Career Technical Education programs, covering various industries and career pathways. These programs include:
- Agriculture Horticulture and Natural Resources
- Arts, Media, and Entertainment, Graphic Technologies, Graphic Design, Graphic Arts, Audio Production
- Building and Construction Trades, Fine Woodworking
- Education, Child Development, Family Services, Integrated Life Management
- Hospitality, Tourism, and Recreation, Culinary Arts
- Information Communication Technology
- Marketing, Sales and Services, Entrepreneurship
JCCS CTE programs are offered in close partnership with local industries and community colleges to ensure that students receive education and training that aligns with the workforce needs of the San Diego County region. Many students in JCCS CTE programs enter the workforce benefiting from job placement and internship opportunities. Our CTE programs offer industry-recognized certifications, which enhance students’ employability and earning potential. Overall, JCCS CTE programs provide accessible, industry-relevant education and training that prepare students for successful careers or further educational pursuits.
Pre-Apprenticeship Programs
SDCOE is committed to creating opportunities for a better future for students in our detention facilities. SDCOE’s Innovation division, in partnership with JCCS, established a pre-apprenticeship program in culinary arts at the Youth Transition Campus, which connects students with job training and potential employment after release.
Innovation and JCCS are currently working on creating pre-apprenticeship opportunities for all CTE programs at JCCS.
Visual and Performing Arts
JCCS has a dedicated focus on providing visual and performing arts (VAPA) programs to students and families. Every school in JCCS has access to VAPA programs through partnerships with one or more of the arts organizations we work with across the county.
Students can participate in a variety of courses in visual and performing arts, and many have access to internships and jobs created with arts partners.
Our partners share our mission of valuing and celebrating student culture, language, community and experience.
In 2020, JCCS received the California Exemplary Arts Education Award, a school-based program that acknowledges local educational agencies who demonstrate a commitment to equity and provide all students access to standards-aligned arts education. The EAE Program allows schools to share their exemplary arts education programs and practices that have contributed to their success. These schools serve as model Arts programs for the California Department of Education.
JCCS Values Student Voice and Advocacy
Our arts programs meet the social and emotional needs of our students, creating a safe space in our classrooms for students to thrive. Programs focus on arts but also on building relationships, which strengthens the overall school climate. Students attend and engage more when they participate in arts programs at their school.
Design Jam is a cross-curricular effort designed to engage students in relevant learning, often through the lens of the arts. Each quarter, students have the opportunity to showcase their learning through writing, math, art, photography, and more.
JCCS Arts Partners
AjA Project
The AjA Project is a compassionate space for young people, activists, visual artists and educators to engage critically with issues that affect our community and realize our collective liberation through participatory storytelling and the documentary arts.
ARTS: A Reason to Survive
Providing arts education focused on design thinking, cultural equity, and healing-centered engagement to youth in South County, San Diego.
Arts Education Connection
Since 1963, Arts Education Connection San Diego has delivered a rich variety of arts education programs to San Diego students and communities through performances, workshops, residencies, and professional learning opportunities, connecting young people to their cultural roots and creative wings. During the 2022-23 school year, they served approximately 21,000 students and their families.
Blind Spot Collective
Transformative theatre that amplifies marginalized voices, illuminates untold stories, bridges disparate experiences, and energizes vulnerable communities.
California Center for the Arts Escondido
Combat Arts
Combat Arts San Diego is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides weekly art classes, workshops, museum tours, art exhibitions, and public art opportunities for system-engaged youth, K-12 students, and veterans.
David’s Harp Foundation
To inspire, educate, and empower system-affected and homeless youth to achieve academic success through music education, sound engineering and multimedia production.
Imagine Theater Company
Imagine is an applied theatre company with a commitment to the intersection of theatre, multimedia arts with social engagement. Imagine works with a team of Theatre Teaching Artists and actors who are trained in Transformative Justice, Trauma-sensitive Care and Culturally Responsive Education and provides live theatre and in-class programs to support creative development for JCCS youth.
La Jolla Playhouse
Since 2014, incarcerated students from JCCS, in partnership with San Diego County Probation, have attended week long Tech Theatre Camps at the La Jolla Playhouse Theatre complex. Students complete rigorous, standards-based activities throughout the week, including constructing small theatre flats, (the walls that create a set), creating props, lighting design, scenic art, costume design, and special effects makeup. Two of San Diego’s most well-respected theatre teachers and the technical staff of La Jolla Playhouse lead the course work. Students earn course credit, as well as a certificate of completion from the La Jolla Playhouse, which is a wonderful addition to the student’s resume.
Media Arts Center San Diego
Media Arts Center San Diego offers year-round education and enrichment programs for youth and teens at local schools, community organizations, and at our Digital Gym Cinema! MACSD is a non-profit organization committed to providing filmmaking tools and media arts education to under-resourced communities in an effort to create social change.