LH to begin new programs
Two years ago, Laurel Highlands School District officials sat in on a session on the National Academy Foundation and thought it would be a productive idea for their students. “We already had business career prep and tech career prep tracks, but they weren’t working as we would like them to,” said Dr. Gary Brain, LH curriculum director. “We had some success, just not enough.”
The National Academy Foundation program, which is considered a “school within a school,” will begin this fall at Laurel Highlands High School. Students can enroll in either the Academy of Travel and Tourism or the Academy of Finance.
The academy program is a three-year, four-course plan that will begin in grade 10 and will include a paid internship between a student’s junior and senior year in high school. The senior year will feature a college-level course that will provide the student with credits that could be used at the college or university he or she chooses to attend in the future.
Joe Sarko, high school guidance counselor, said he has already approached students, and interest has been high. The school would like to enroll 15 students in each academy for this fall, he said.
Students who have applied for the academies have had their grade-point averages and their attendance records reviewed, because attendance is key in hiring employees.
“They need to show up and show up on time,” Sarko said.
Brain said that students can enroll in the academies and still take their math, language and other courses.
To help in the development process, Reaching Educational Advancement with Community Help (REACH) has been involved from the beginning to advance the National Academy Foundation program.
Kim Dillinger, workforce/education development specialist for Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, said a board was created with two councils, one for each academy, to determine how the program should be implemented first at Laurel Highlands and eventually in other school districts in Fayette County.
“We know some employers had some mixed experiences with high school interns in the past, but we are trying to do what we can with the curriculum to make sure the students are prepared,” she said. “When students get placed, they will be of a better quality than what some employers have been used to because of this program.”
Dillinger said all of the school officials throughout the county will be watching Laurel Highlands this fall to see how the program starts. She said a template can be developed for other schools based on how well this first site performs.
She said REACH has gotten some financial assistance through grants from the Fayette/Westmoreland Workforce Investment Board and through the state Department of Education and through private donations.
The eventual goal, however, is to make the program self-sustaining, which is why the business partnerships of REACH have become valuable, Dillinger said.
“Students in other National Academy programs have said that it didn’t matter what academy they enrolled in – the experience was valuable to them,” she said. “If a student chooses one of these academies, they are not being pigeon-holed to that particular career. We want to give them some real-life work experience in a real working environment.”
Brain said students will work in groups, and Dillinger noted that the council is working to develop ways to give the academy students their own identity and help to build bonds.
Teachers will have a common prep time to work together and talk about the progress of their students and how the students have responded to the courses, Brain said.
He said the idea of implementing the National Academy program in Laurel Highlands would have remained just that had REACH not played such an active role the past two years.
“We had to develop an advisory board, and they’ve done that,” he said. “We’ve needed business contacts, and they’ve given them to us. We’re fortunate to have them working with us.”
For more information about the National Academy Foundation, visit www.naf.org