Central High School Magnet Career Academy lists ten career programs in the new 2027 to 2028 High School Choices guide, and Jefferson County Public Schools sorts them into five areas: business, law, STEM, health services, and teaching and learning. Applications for fall 2027 are due Friday, December 18, 2026, to both JCPS and Central.
The harder question for a family isn't whether Central belongs on the list. We covered that in why more Louisville parents should pay attention to Central. It's which of those programs your child would actually want to spend four years in, and what each one asks of a 14 year old. We read the 2027 to 2028 guide, posted on the district's High School Choices page, and every program page on Central's own site on October 31, 2026.
What programs does Central offer for 2027 to 2028?
The guide's Central profile names these specialized offerings: Cyber Engineering and STEM Innovation, Dental Assisting, Management Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Navy JROTC, Patient Care Technician and Pre Nursing, Pre Law, Pre Med, Teaching and Learning, and Veterinary Assistant. That's ten items, the same count Central's applicant document gives when it tells students "We have 10 Magnet programs at CHS."
Two other lists don't line up exactly. The guide's own career pathway chart near the back of the book adds Additive Manufacturing, which is 3D printing, for eleven entries. Central's website files its programs under different labels: Business, Law and Government, Marketing, Medical and Health Services, Sports Medicine, STEM, Teaching and Learning, and Veterinary Science, with Montessori and ROTC in the same menu. Match your child to what the program teaches, not to the label.
Which program fits a kid who wants to be a doctor, nurse or dentist?
Health services is Central's deepest area, and it splits three ways. Central's Medical and Health Services page describes each one.
Dental. Courses cover dental terminology, procedures, infection control and restorative dentistry. Students can earn CPR, radiation and OSHA certifications and six hours of college credit for Medical Terminology and Principles of Health Science. The Medical and Health Services page says completers can receive a Chairside Dental Assisting Certificate, that select seniors join a University of Louisville dental school mentorship, and that senior students have a paid co op at Mortenson Family Dentistry.
Pre Med. The course list includes Medical Terminology, CPR for Healthcare Professionals, Principles of Health Science, Sports Medicine, and Body Structures and Functions. The same page says students can earn CPR, First Aid and OSHA certifications and have a chance to become a certified pharmacy technician. College credit courses run sophomore through senior year.
Nursing. Juniors can earn a Medicaid Nursing Aide certification plus CPR and First Aid, the page says, after studying nursing procedures, disease research and mental health. They can also take college classes at Jefferson Community and Technical College.
The dental track ends in a specific job credential. Pre Med is broader and better for a student who knows "medicine" but not which corner of it. Nursing puts a working certification in a junior's hands.
Sports Medicine has its own page on Central's site, but on October 31 it held only a video, and it doesn't appear as a separate program in the district guide. It shows up as a course inside Pre Med.
What about the student who loves animals?
A student who finishes this program can walk out with a Veterinary Assisting certification. It's Veterinary Science on Central's site and Veterinary Assistant in the guide, and Central's Veterinary Science page lists breed identification and restraint, nutrition, lab techniques, surgical nursing, small animal diseases, and hands on clinical work in the classroom. The Veterinary Science page also lists a Livestock Anatomy course offered as early college through Morehead State University.
Students can also earn Pet First Aid and CPR certification. The page names partnerships with Jefferson Animal Hospital, Gailor Animal Hospital, the Kentucky Humane Society and VCA Animal Hospital. It says the program prepares students for a college veterinary technology program and encourages them to go on to veterinary school.
Which program suits a debater or a future lawyer?
Law and Government. Central's Law and Government page says the program is offered in partnership with the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. Students take American Legal System, American Government and American Political System, and they do mock trials, debate competitions, Model United Nations, shadowing and co op work. The page stresses oral and written communication, and the careers it lists run from judge to elected official.
What do the business and marketing programs teach?
They're separate programs, and Central's site gives each its own page.
Central's Business page says students can complete a state recognized business career major in Management and Entrepreneurship or in Business Management. Courses include Business Principles, Business Economics, Entrepreneurship and Business Management, and the page lists a student operated business and the Amazing Global Marketplace.
The Marketing page runs Principles of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Advanced Marketing, and Sports and Event Marketing, with careers such as brand management and advertising. The page also points to The Buzz Sports News. A sports obsessed kid who has no interest in medicine may fit here better than in Sports Medicine.
Is there a program for the kid who builds things or codes?
Yes, and its IT students run the school's help desk, according to Central's STEM page. Central's site calls it STEM, and the guide calls it Cyber Engineering and STEM Innovation. The guide describes a blend of programming, cybersecurity and hardware engineering, plus robotics and electricity. The STEM page lists STEM Innovation, Computer Science, Robotics Engineering, and 3D printing and design. It says the robotics club, the Louisville Centrons, fields three VEX teams and one FIRST team.
What about future teachers?
Teaching and Learning puts students into classroom activities, according to the guide, and teaches them how to design lessons and assessments that meet standards. Central's Teaching and Learning page held videos but no written course list when we checked October 31, so the guide is the only written description posted.
Where do Montessori and Navy JROTC fit?
Central's Montessori page says Montessori students take core classes (math, social studies, science, English and world language) with Montessori teachers and still have access to Central's magnet programs, AP classes and extracurriculars. The page describes mixed age classes, group work and student planned field trips. It says the program suits a student who works well in groups, wants to know "why," and is willing to do Montessori activities outside school time.
The guide lists Navy JROTC among Central's specialized offerings and describes it as naval science and life in the U.S. Navy. Central's ROTC page had no written description posted on October 31.
How does a student pick a program on the application?
Nothing JCPS has posted says the district application asks for one. The 2027 to 2028 guide lists Central as a single magnet school among JCPS's eight magnet high schools, not as ten separate entries. Families file one application per student with up to two magnet choices.
The only place the process asks about a specific program is Central's own Yellowjacket Applicants document. A student answers one of three prompts, and the third asks, "Which program do you want to participate in, and how can you use what you learn to help social change?" The other two are about leadership and personal strengths. Neither the guide nor the document says when a student is placed in a program, and no program publishes a seat count or prerequisites. Call Central at 502 485 8226 before your child writes an essay around one program, and ask three things: whether a student accepted to Central is guaranteed the program named in the essay, what happens if that program is full, and whether a student can switch programs after freshman year.
What does Central want besides the JCPS application?
The guide says Central selects students through a competitive process that includes achievement test scores, GPA, personal essays and teacher recommendations. Central's document says to finish the JCPS application first, and that both are due December 18, 2026. Then the student needs:
One response to a prompt, done as an essay of 500 to 700 words, a video of at least one to two minutes, or a Google Site, uploaded to the Google Classroom for the student's last name. The document says Central checks essays for AI use.
Two recommendations from a teacher, counselor or principal, sent through Central's form.
A personal profile questionnaire, which the document calls "NOT optional."
Private school applicants, or anyone who can't upload, can send materials to centralhigh_reginfo@jefferson.kyschools.us. Our guide to which magnet applications need extra materials lays out the same steps alongside Manual and Brown.
When will families hear back?
The guide says families who apply on time will hear by letter, email or phone by April 2027. The district's Optional and Magnet Lottery Wait List page lists first choice selection from January 3 to February 4, 2027, and second choice selection from February 5 to March 4, 2027. Our piece on first choice versus second choice explains why that order matters. An online application can be changed until December 18. After that, the guide says, changes aren't allowed.
Students must live in Jefferson County to attend, and siblings get no preference.
Does a bus come with a Central seat?
For this school year, yes. The JCPS transportation verification announcement for 2026 to 2027 lists "all students attending Central High School and Western High School" as bus eligible. That list covers this year only. JCPS hasn't published one for 2027 to 2028, so recheck it in the spring. Our guide to who qualifies for JCPS bus transportation has the full list.
Central is at 1130 W. Chestnut Street. Call 502 485 8226 with questions about the programs or the prompts, and the JCPS Office of School Choice at 502 485 6250 about the district application.