This year freshman students at the Simonsen ninth grade are working in one of seven career-oriented academies. Their academy experience will continue in the 2015-2016 school year as each of the seven academies will offer classes at the sophomore level in Jefferson City High School.
The plan is to phase in the academies each year so that by the 2017-2018 school year every Jefferson City High School student will have the academy experience.
An academy jamboree is scheduled from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Dec. 2 at JCHS if you wish to learn more. It is an informal setting in which anyone can attend, mingle with academy representatives, and ask questions. The jamboree is set up so that eighth graders and their parents can come in and view academy displays and talk to teachers, principals, and business partners.
There are several features of getting a high school education within academies that make learning more meaningful and relevant for students. Those features are good practice in any high school, whether the academy model is used or not.
Here are some of the items that can be incorporated in to everyday learning:
Lessons and units of instruction should feature problem-solving that is encountered in the work place. Subject areas should no longer be studied abstractly, completely isolated from the world in which we live. Instead, students should see the relevance of what they are learning. To do this, teachers should tailor instruction to examples within particular careers or vocations.
There should be collaboration between teachers in different subject areas. Traditionally, high schools and colleges have nicely and neatly compartmentalized learning according to subject areas. The only problem is, learning is not nicely and neatly compartmentalized that way. There is much overlap in what we do and there is much to be gained when teachers have cross-curricular discussions and cross-curricular lesson preparation. It helps when teachers get another perspective on what they are teaching. Furthermore, almost any class that is taught can be supplemented and supported by another subject area.
Teachers should incorporate the help of business and industry. Lessons can be greatly enriched by involving individuals from other professions. They can help with the planning, with the delivery of instruction, and with the assessment of student projects. The students gain a lot when an outside professional provides feedback on student work or on student presentations. When classroom efforts are coupled with the business world, suddenly we aren't doing school as usual anymore.
Lessons must include the teaching of life skills, job skills, and character development. When students see concrete examples of how the learning will be of benefit to them, their interest automatically goes up. Every student can grow from learning how to present themselves, how to practice good customer service, how to work in teams, how to effectively communicate, how to utilize technology, how to analyze information, how to identify reliable sources, how to work with others in a collegial manner, and how to tap in to their own creative pursuits, It is our responsibility to help students make those connections.
Incorporate a global perspective. The future (and in many respects the present) requires that students develop a good understanding of China and the far east, the Middle East, and Mexico and Latin America. American business and culture will be greatly influenced by all of those regions in the years to come.
Academies give us the opportunity to do all of these things to greatly enhance the learning for all students. They are a natural part of what real education is about. David Wilson, EdD, is the associate principal at Jefferson City High School. You may email him at [email protected].