- North High School's received Model Academy with Distinction status from the National Career Academy Coalition, meeting all 10 national standards of practice for a career academy.
- Students completed an intensive capstone project designing and building a fire station.
- The program develops transferable skills including communication, collaboration, and public speaking, while connecting students with industry professionals they can lean on throughout their careers.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
North High School's Engineering & Design Academy has earned the highest level of recognition from the National Career Academy Coalition.
The school received Model Academy with Distinction status — meaning it met all 10 national standards of practice for a career academy.
The Architectural Construction Engineering program connects students with experts in their future career fields. During the final 2 years of the "Project Lead the Way" program, students complete an intensive capstone project alongside ACE mentors. This year, students were tasked with designing and building a fire station, a project that began with a meeting with firefighters to learn what they needed in a facility.
Student Ethan Hayes said the firefighters input shaped the direction of the project.
"A big focus this year was apparatus, like a drive through apparatus base, which you enter one way and then exit through another way," Hayes said.
Fellow student Jesse Guzman said the project taught him the real-world demands of construction and design.
"I learned all the codes behind building a project, all the requirements, all the limitations you have to do, when first starting off with nothing, actually building a fire station," Guzman said.
Guzman said the program has also helped him build a professional network he expects to carry into his career.
"You build those connections, just from high school, you'd have connections that you're gonna rely on in the future," Guzman said.
Dr. Amanda Gutierrez, curriculum specialist, said the program is designed to prepare students for life beyond graduation regardless of the path they choose.
"Even though they're in an engineering pathway, they're actually developing transferable skills in terms of communication, collaboration, public speaking," Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said the national recognition affirms the program's impact.
"It's just affirming that the work we're doing is meaningful and valuable to our students, and we're doing it to the highest level possible, so we can feel really confident in the opportunities that we're presenting our young people," Gutierrez said.
For Guzman, the honor is a reflection of the effort students have put in.
"All that effort all that hard work and to finally be recognized, it feels good," Guzman said.
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