About Us
Why an Academy?
Educational research shows that students who are connected to activities and groups they are interested in perform better in school. They also perform higher when connected within a group of students and if they have a "home" at school where they develop personal connections to other student and to their teachers. The Academy offers a program in which students develop deep connections over time and receive focused assistance and personalized academic and career advice from their Academy teachers.
This academy is the perfect pathway for students interested in a future career in the STEM field (especially engineering) or technical trades. Not only have our graduates entered the engineering field but the Academy of Engineering has been a launching point for students who have successfully gone into other fields such as Law, Medicine, Business, and Education. Regardless of the student's desired future pathway, Academy students learn how to critically think and problem solve in way that that supersedes any profession.
The heart of the Academy is Work Based Learning (WBL), where students have the opportunity to gain real-world work experience through job shadows and internships. The Academy prepares students to obtain and maintain that first job, whether in high school or beyond, by leading them through a structured program where students get college awareness, job shadow experience, interview, and project presentation coaching. Meeting our local business partners builds their connection to our business community and teaches students what employers are looking for in an employee. Additionally, our Project Based Learning (PBL) curriculum prepares students both for work in the world of engineering and for the kinds of project presentations required in any sector. Each core engineering class has a capstone project that is presented to and evaluated by a team of local business advisory people.
What is a Cohort?
In short, a cohort is a group of 20-30 students that go through the Academy and classes together each year. In the Academy, students are cohorted into 3 classes for their freshman and sophomore years, and a core engineering class for their junior and senior years. The teachers of these cohorted classes coordinate lessons and topics so that students will revisit key themes and information in multiple classes and from multiple points of view. This helps students master and retain information. It also bonds them together, often forming lasting friendships and mutual respect. This sharing of classes also allows the teachers to meet meet regularly to discuss student progress.
Juniors and Seniors who are considering science careers are encouraged to take affiliated program classes like Computer Science, Physics, AP Physics, or AP Chemistry. Parents should note that non core engineering classes in the cohort do not carry Honors designation. However, they are taught at an Honors level.
Our Affiliations
We are Certified by NAF, the National Academy Foundation, which provides our Work Based Learning (WBL) curriculum and certifies our program for school to career readiness. For more information about NAF use this link:
We are also affiliated with Project Lead the Way (PLTW). They provide our nationally recognized Engineering curriculum and administer the end of course exams for our students. For more information about PLTW see this link:
https://www.pltw.org/our-programs/pltw-engineering