Career Academies are small learning communities established at the high school level that use career strands as an organizing framework for learning and instruction, as well as for engaging the interest and energies of students. Standards common to well-designed Career Academy: (1) Central goal of preparing students for higher education and careers in the workplace, emphasizing academic instruction to deliver a challenging, standards-based college preparatory curriculum in the context of a broad occupational or career strand; (2) Voluntary recruitment and enrollment of students on their interest in a career theme; (3) Multi-grade curriculum in which Academy sequences span at least 2 (and sometimes up to 4) years of the high school experience; (4) Cohort scheduling; and (5) Private sector partner involvement to offer input into curriculum and standards, teach and interact with students, and provide opportunities for internships and jobs. The LIFE Academy of Health and Bioscience in the Oakland Unified School District is highlighted.