Upper Academies at Statesville High School Mrs. Shelley Wolf Mrs. Sabina McClelland

What is an Upper Academy? An Upper Academy can be described as a school within a school. It is a way of making learning more personal for students based on their academic and career interests. Upper Academies are mainly created with a specific career concentration

Upper Academies at Statesville High Digital Arts and Media Academy –Microsoft IT –Journalism –Multimedia & Webpage Design Fire Technology Academy Pilot Leadership Academy –JROTC

Benefits of Upper Academies for SHS Students Promotes thinking about future career and post secondary plans Shows relationship between academic skills and necessary career skills Provides interest based courses Students have the opportunity to relate to real world applications through visitations, internships and job shadowing Provides opportunities for community involvement such as bringing in speakers, encouraging community service projects and participating in career related field trips Allows students to collaborate on career specific projects Students graduating from an academy will leave school with a certification showing they are future ready in their interest area

How do Academies work? Students can leave the academy at any time but cannot enroll except in the sophomore year in order to meet all class requirements for graduation Students graduating from an academy will leave school future ready with a concentration in their interest area Academy courses are open to all students

How do Academies work? Academies in high school, recruit students that share a specific interest through an application process Each academy will have core teachers that teach to the academy interest by providing cross curricular instruction Academy students share many of the same classes and travel through the program together

All students can learn. Students learn in different ways and should be provided with a variety of instructional approaches to support their learning. Students learn best when they have appropriate opportunities for success. Challenging expectations increase individual student performance. All students that participate in an Upper Academy can be successful Upper Academies provides students various opportunities for success with a variety of instructional approaches such as hands on, project based and internships to support their learning Student performance as well as graduation rates increase when they are challenged in an area that is of interest to them Upper Academies relate to the vision and beliefs of SHS

Cultural diversity can increase students' understanding of different peoples and cultures. Teachers, administrators, parents, and the community share the responsibility for advancing the schools' mission. Each student is a valued individual with unique physical, social, emotional, and intellectual needs. All stakeholders benefit from the Upper Academy because it prepares the student with knowledge in a career interest that can lead to the start of a rewarding and satisfying career. Participating in an Upper Academy can provide opportunities to students which extends beyond their familiar surroundings and introduce them to different ethnicities and cultures

SLC Grant & Upper Academies One of the main objective of the SLC Grant is to improve Post Secondary success. –Having Upper Academies within the SHS will allow us to complete our grant requirements Career focused classes Job shadowing Interest based and cross curricular instruction Caring and informed Academy staff College visits and activities Cultural diversified knowledge

PLCS Technology Common Core Balanced Literacy How do the Upper Academies connect to the “Rings”