WAIMEA — Earlier this month at the 23rd annual National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC) in Philadelphia, Waimea High School’s Freshmen Academy was recognized for its “model” status achievement.
This recognition identifies career academies around the country that exemplify the career academy, research-based best practices with evidence of fidelity to the National Standards of Practice.
Waimea High is only the second school in the nation to achieve this recognition and the second neighbor island school to be recognized for its “model” status career academies.
The mission of the Freshmen Academy is: The Freshman Academy will provide all students with a nurturing atmosphere with common classroom expectations and instructional strategies along with college and career exploration opportunities.
The Freshen Academy vision is: The Freshman Academy students are successfully transitioned to high school; make purposeful choices about academies; set personal, college, and career goals; and have developed the academic, organizational and technological skills to ensure success and resiliency.
Principal Mahina Anguay said the purpose of the Freshmen Academy is to ensure that each student successfully transitions to Waimea High School.
Freshmen create an individualized, 10-year plan, and also take aptitude tests so they’re able to make informed, purposeful decisions about which upper academy they would like to pursue, she said.
Students are also taught Advancement Via Individual Determination organizational strategies and are given binders and planners that are checked weekly by their teachers.
Each Freshmen Academy team has a dedicated administrator, counselor and lead teacher who run biweekly meetings where teachers talk about student concerns and academy business.
They share common classroom expectations, instructional strategies, rubrics and procedures.
“This year, they completely revamped our ninth-grade orientation, which has resulted in improved attendance and an increase in student success,” Anguay said. “The structures and processes that they’ve put into place over the last 16 months serve as a foundation for our upper academies.”
