The
High School Inc. Academies (HSI),
a market-driven institution, is guided by the principle
that students adept at acquiring skills the marketplace
demands will succeed in the innovation-driven economy of
the 21st century. HSI is closing the skills gap
between education standards and industry needs through
instruction guided by market research and close interaction
between academia and the workplace. Seven learning
academies prepare students for careers in Orange County’s
top growth industries:
automotive/ transportation,
culinary arts, engineering/construction, global business, health care,
manufacturing, and
new media.
• The Academies provide concurrent fulfillment of
state graduation requirements through integrated academic
and technical classes, and may receive class credits at
local colleges and trade schools.
• A council of business leaders directs curriculum
planning to include field trips to industry facilities,
equipment demonstrations by managers and foremen, internship
opportunities, job shadowing, and part-time jobs.
• Students learn valuable, real-world skills by
completing team project assignments that teach rigor and
relevance. Teams track their progress with daily
entries in online journals.
HSI’s innovative approach to high school education
includes greater accountability and incentives for teachers,
and a management team that routinely assesses and adjusts
the curriculum to reflect trends in student achievement,
labor market conditions, and community welfare. This
new institution directly benefits our county’s most
underserved minority community.
Opened in the fall of 2007, HSI is one of the first jointly-administered
public/private schools in the state, and is boosting the
educational outcomes of disadvantaged students through
a real-world, competency-based curriculum. HSI will
eventually enroll as many as 2,700 Santa Ana students who
are passionate about learning and disciplined to excel
in a challenging setting. The school actively targets
students whose potential and motivation are unfulfilled
in a traditional classroom setting.
By graduation, Academy students are fully prepared to
choose one of several career options: higher education
at a college, university or trade school; immediate employment
in a chosen industry; or establishment
of a start-up business as a proprietor or partner. These
high school seniors graduate with the skills, abilities
and knowledge required to secure a good job, start their
own business, or continue on to a college or university.
The Academies concept is a successful new model that can
be replicated in other urban areas, and represents new
thinking in secondary-school education. Matching
local labor pool skills to market demands is the primary
goal. By utilizing a curriculum which responds to
local market conditions, the city of Santa Ana and the
greater Orange County business community will benefit from
a more competitive workforce. And in so doing, we
are helping reduce the high school dropout rate, better
prepare our future workforce, and change lives.
