This article was written and reported by Rachel Hatzipanagos.
Marshall Academy will transform into a Governor’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) focused program starting in 2014.
Administrators at Marshall Academy, located at Marshall High School, just had their application approved by the Virginia Department of Education last week.
“We’ve been successful as an IT academy and some of the trades, but we need to look forward and see what is needed for the workplace,” said Jeff McFarland, the administrator at the school’s Governor’s STEM academy.
STEM academies throughout the state aim to offer students the chance to get training in "high-demand, high-wage, and high-skill careers in Virginia," according to the department of education's website.
The academy will start offering more courses in cyber security, STEM advanced engineering and robotics, and geospatial systems. The school also hopes to partner with post-secondary institutions and area businesses to create competitions and scholarships for students.
“We looked at the courses we offer, and we would like to accelerate those courses and provide a more rigorous approach,” McFarland said.
He added that the school will refocus to more project-based learning: “It’s ‘here’s the design, here’s the problem and you need to do the best to solve it.’ That’s sort of the idea behind STEM,” McFarland said. “...We are looking to offer something different and exciting and keep them working after school and the weekends.”
Marshall had already offered career and technical training through its existing academy, with the program typically receiving 950 to 1,000 applications a year for 800 seats.
The academy accepts applications from all over Fairfax County, however, due to proximity, they have eight primary schools they draw from: Langley, McLean, Falls Church, Oakton, Madison, West Springfield, Annandale, and Edison high schools.
“I would think as parents understand that we are designated as a STEM academy, there is going to be a lot more interest and applications coming in,” McFarland said.
McFarland said that in the next year, administrators will be fine-tuning the program and teachers may attend conferences and get some additional training. They are also looking for local business partners.
“We want to grow to offer training in areas we may not even understand today,” McFarland said.
Find out more about Governor's STEM academies.
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