By Maggie Blackwell
mblackwell@salisburypost.comRowan-Salisbury School Board members heard plans Monday night to implement academies at four of the area’s six high schools. Principals from South Rowan, West Rowan, North Rowan and Carson high schools presented their concepts for unique academies.
East High School did not make a presentation. Salisbury High School has already implemented an Academy of Math and Science.
An academy is a school within a school that provides focused education in a specific field. Students enroll in an academy in their freshman year with a four-year commitment.
All four of the principals indicated the academies will start with 25 to 30 freshmen in fall 2009, increasing enrollment by 25 to 30 for the next three years. At full capacity, each academy will serve 100 to 120 students who study concentrated coursework in the particular field. Each of the principals indicated a new academy will not require additional staff or funding at this time.
Kathy McDuffie, director of secondary education, said the state began talking about academies several years ago. Since then, high school principals have been interviewing students as to their interests and possible concepts for future academies.
Dr. Don Knox, principal of South Rowan High School, presented his concept for a Junior ROTC Academy. Col. Mark Hafer, who directs the Army JROTC program at South, assisted in the presentation.
At the present time, some students resign from JROTC because they cannot work honors classes into their schedules. The academy model schedules honors classes and JROTC so that students can attend both, making them more eligible for scholarships. Hafer hopes the academy can raise funds to supplant the $55 fee students must pay for each honors class. The academy also has a track for those students who are not college-bound.
Hafer pointed out students who successfully complete three years of JROTC can join the Army with an E-3 rank immediately out of high school, earning $300 per month more than their E-1 peers who did not participate in JROTC. Students who go on to college have advanced placement in college ROTC programs.
While most of the area high schools offer JROTC, South’s program has the most racial diversity in the system, Hafer said. He also said that this year, South’s drill team is accepted to compete at the 12-state regional level. The team has gone on to compete at the national level in past years. South’s program is the only one in the system to offer participation at this intensity, Hafer said.
Knox is communicating with the state to certify honors-level JROTC classes
Jamie Durant, principal at West Rowan High School, presented his vision for an Academy of Agricultural Science. In addition to preparing college-bound agricultural students, the program will serve as a retention tool for at-risk students. Today, students who are “ag-inclined” can find work right out of school when they drop out, Durant said. They may excel in agricultural classes, but not in their core classes. He anticipates a concentration in agricultural studies will encourage these students to complete high school. The model calls for other sciences to be paired with agricultural science for a three-hour block. Academy students will fulfill additional requirements before graduation: membership in Future Farmers of America (FFA), completion of a supervised agriculture experience program and participation in one career development program.
The West Rowan FFA Alumni will provide $2,000 scholarships to the top two graduates from the academy each year. Academy students will be eligible for more than $2 million in scholarships offered by the national FFA and North Carolina FFA.
Rodney Bass, principal at North Rowan High School, outlined his plans for an Academy of Health Sciences. In the academy, allied health teachers will work closely with medical science teachers for a three-hour block of intensive medical training. Bass said many students at North graduate with a CNA and begin work right out of high school. The academy will encourage students to acquire the CNA and use it to pursue higher degrees and higher salaries. Bass hopes the alumni association at North will underwrite college scholarships for academy students.
Henry Kluttz, principal at Carson High School, gave his vision for an Academy in Fine Arts. Students in the academy will take courses in at least four of the six offered arts courses: dance, theatre, choral music, two types of visual arts and band. The academy will prepare students by building their resumes through portfolio work, Kluttz said, and stresses a strong student-teacher relationship.
Students will complete either the college prep or tech prep track, and have flexibility in their schedules to take honors or advanced placement courses. They can also take more courses in their own artistic disciplines. Students will present evidence of all arts coursework, a service learning project, and extracurricular arts activities to a panel of arts faculty to review at the end of the student’s senior year.
Initially, school board members had questions about students transferring to different high schools for academy enrollment, and the ensuing transportation challenges that arise from transfers. Because the academies will initially accept only 30 students, and students from the host school are given preference, it is unlikely that there will be great numbers of transfers.
Because Monday’s meeting was a work meeting, a vote was not taken, but there was a consensus of approval from board members.
At the February school board meeting, McDuffie will present the new state requirement for high school students to declare a concentration for their studies. This topic ties closely to the academy concept.