Community Spotlight: Academies of Belton

Published on June 30, 2021

Interview-with-Dr.-Stacey-Yurkovich-Director-of-Academies

Imagine that you are a senior in high school and you’re starting to get that feeling of uncertainty as you think, “What will I do once I graduate?”

Belton High School (BHS) has implemented a model of delivering information and education to help minimize these worries and give students the confidence they need to succeed in life after high school.

BHS has partnered with the Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) model to develop The Academies of Belton, a strategy that offers a portfolio of approaches (multiple pathways) so that every student has the opportunity to choose a career path that best fits their personal interests.

BHS currently offer’s three academies, Business & Technology, Human Services and Science & Industry. Within each academy there are specific career pathways.

BHS has been transforming the traditional high school to an academy model since 2018. The first class to fully participate in the Academies of Belton model will be the class of 2023 – today’s sophomores.

One class that all incoming freshmen will take as part of this model is called Freshman Seminar which focuses on a successful transition to high school through the exploration of individuality, passions and skills and careers.

 

Traditional core academic classes such as math, English, social studies, and science will be taught through the lens of each students chosen academy, providing students with real-world application. In addition to the core academic classes, students will have the opportunity to explore many careers elective courses such as world languages, leadership, physical education, performing arts and visual arts.

 

This model offers numerous benefits for today’s students looking to identify career paths that suits their interests including working with adults who have real-world experience; the ability to earn dual credit (high school and college credit) while still in high school, and the opportunity to participate in internships that provide firsthand experience.

Liberty Hart and Dylan Mays are Belton High School students involved in the academy model and DECA, a program that prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. These two students wrote the following article as part of their Community Awareness DECA paper that was submitted into the annual DECA competition. The students’ story explains the effectiveness of academy model from their perspective:

A New Perspective on Education

Our DECA project revolves around the connection between two concepts: poverty and education. We sought to explore the connection and solutions to improve poverty rates through education. In America, education is available and free to all students, yet the number of Americans living in poverty continues to increase, even when adjusted for population growth.

The format used in public schools has not changed in 100+ years, yet it is clear to all that the world certainly has.  Research reveals that this format may not be effective as countries across the world continue to surpass (the U.S in) educational achievement levels. According to the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, American students' scores routinely rank behind other developed nations in overall knowledge, and the gap is increasing.

The concept of academies in education is relatively new, however, the data is remarkable. There are several academy models, for example, the Ford Next Generation Learning (FNGL) and the National Academy Foundation (NAF) models. These models have proven themselves effective in many diverse communities throughout America and may be critical when it comes to improving the overall quality of our education. In addition to improving education, the academy model better prepares students for careers beyond high school and, by extension, helps to reduce the poverty rate.

The academy model leads to higher graduation rates and certifications for students in their chosen career path. For example, in NAF schools, students' graduation rates increased by 10%.  This is important in relation to poverty reduction because the more educated one is, the less likely they are to live in poverty. This graph demonstrates this, with the percentage of those in poverty and educational levels achieved.

 Academies-Graph  

As shown by this graph, (by) just graduating high school (vs. dropping out), the poverty rate for those students goes from 23% to 10%.  While there is a wealth of data connecting education to poverty rates, solutions such as academy models are worth exploration and implementation. Belton High School is officially a Ford Next Generation Academy school, starting with last year’s freshmen. Students enter 1 of 3 Academies:  Business & Technology, Science and Industry or Human Services, with the ultimate goal of achieving industry recognized credentials and graduate college or (be) career ready. 

For more information visit: https://www.beltonschools.org/domain/384

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