In 1993 a Career and Technical Preparation Task Force, was formed in a nothern Virginia suburban school system, to study and recommend changes to the vocational education curriculum and two high school vocational centers. The task force met for thirteen months and concluded its study in a report entitled "Securing Our Students' Future in a High Tech Global Economy." The Division Superintendent presented this report and its recommendations to the county school board on January 12, 1995. The Board voted unanimously to accept the recommendations of the task force. After that point, an Implementation Task Force met from 1996to 1996 to plan the implementation of the original task force's seven recommendations. The recommendations represented a paradigm shift by advocating the elimination of the traditional vocational education philosophy of training some students for jobs while academically preparing others for future education. Vocational education was transformed into Professional Technical Studies, an academic discipline that integrated academic and career education. High school academies were established to replace the two vocational centers located within two existing high schools. The history that surrounded the implementation of the task force recommendations is presented in this study. / Ed. D.