Volusia County (Florida) Schools' Career and Technical Education (CTE) program has a high school graduation rate of 95 percent. That beats the districtwide rate of 78 percent. That's not all: The 4,500 students enrolled in 33 different career programs at 10 high schools have higher grade point averages in general and do better in Advanced Placement courses. Finally, according to the school district, more than 85 percent of them have some kind of post-secondary education plans in place when they graduate. Numbers don't explain everything, but they do demonstrate the success the Volusia district has had coupling academic and job training goals, and scholarship and project-based learning with experts from throughout the community. Achieving this result has taken 16 years of thoughtful cultivation around a unique focus--viewing the school district as a "member" of the community. Educators and businesspeople alike make sure the CTE students get hands-on experience in the workplace, plenty of exposure in the community, and a solid academic underpinning. (Contains 5 online resources.)