Career Academies are small learning communities within MCSS high schools and the Madison County Career Tech Center that focus on a career pathway for a two-, three-, or four-year span. Students enter through a voluntary application process; they must apply and be accepted, with parental knowledge and support. Students in a career academy take a mixture of career (usually one or two) and academic (usually three or four) classes each year. Classes meet entrance requirements for four- year universities. Students develop knowledge in a given industry, and—in some academies—students have opportunities to earn industry certification relevant to the career academy.