High Schools Plan To Expand Academies

SPRINGDALE— Pete Joenks, principal at Springdale High School, said after 10 years, school officials want to expand the number of academies to serve all students.

The opportunity to do so will come as a result of planning grants Springdale High and Har-Ber High schools each received from the Arkansas Department of Career Education, said Don Love, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning grades eight through 12. The high schools received $30,000 each to cover travel expenses for visiting schools with successful academy models, he said.

An academy within a high school is a college preparatory community that focuses on a career theme, said Deborah Germany, communications director for the Arkansas Department of Career Education. Academies also create partnerships with employers and community members, she said.

Springdale High has four academies, but students aren’t required to be in an academy, Joenks said. They have 350 of their 2,084 students in academies, but want every student to be in an academy, he said.

The academies are important to the school and its students, Joenks said.

“They are integral parts of our school,” he said.

Har-Ber High School doesn’t have academies, but it has two small learning communities, which have a slightly different model than academies, said Danny Brackett, principal. The school won’t have those small learning communities next year, he said.

Har-Ber officials are considering implementing academies, and will use the grant to study the issue. A decision is expected by August, according to the grant proposal.

If school officials choose to adopt the academy concept, they will seek a grant and implement the academies during the 2014-15 school year, Brackett said. They would probably offer four academies, he said.

“We’re really talking about reinventing our school,” Brackett said.

There are many benefits to having academies, Love said.

Students in academies get to stay with the same teachers during their years at the school, which allow the teachers to learn more about what the students need, he said.

“It lets us know them as a person,” said Marilyn Carrell, a teacher in the Information Technology Academy at Springdale High School.

Academies also have helped improve students’ test scores and high school experiences, according to Springdale High School’s grant proposal.

Students in academies are more successful because they are able to associate with something on campus, Joenks said.

“Kids have a place to belong,” he said. “The more connections they have with the school, the more success they’ll have.”

Aroldo Gabriel, a senior in the Information Technology Academy, said he attributes a lot of what he has learned to the opportunities he’s had through the academy.

“I wouldn’t have the networking skills that I have now,” he said.

Academies also allow students to determine whether they like a field before leaving high school or entering college, Germany said.

“It gives them a little bit of exposure to that career field,” she said.

Springdale High had challenges getting their academies started, Joenks said. The biggest challenge was scheduling because they had to schedule nonacademy classes and academy classes at the same time.

Activities and field trips academy students participate in also have to be kept in mind when class scheduling is done, said Carrell.

“It’s much more than just a set of courses,” she said.

Students didn’t know what the academies were when they began, and that was another challenge, Joenks said. It took time for word to spread and students to become interested.

New curriculum for academies generally takes some time to plan and many schools find that a challenge, Germany said.

Rogers High School and Heritage High School have five academies each, said Ashley Kelley Siwiec, communications director for the Rogers School District.

Fayetteville High School has three small learning communities, said Deanna Easton, small learning community coordinator. School officials want to expand to seven communities, she said.

“The whole idea is to get smaller,” Easton said. “I think the smaller you can get the better it is for the kids.”

Bentonville High School has five small learning communities, according to the school’s website.