Add as a preferred source on Google

New Arizona High School Follows Academy Model

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 07/18/19

A high school scheduled to open this month near Phoenix in Arizona is following what it's calling an "academy-based, career-pathway focused education." Eastmark High School, part of the Queen Creek Unified School District in Mesa, will feature next-generation educational spaces as well as athletic and arts programs.

The campus is being built with a combination of voter-approved bond funds and state school facilities funding. Phase-1 of the project is 154,000 square feet with a capacity for about 1,350 students. The site is master planned for future phases to increase capacity to 2,700 to 2,800 students. The future spaces will accommodate an auxiliary gym, additional learning spaces, a performing and arts space and an auditorium.

The project broke ground in March 2018 on a 60-acre site. Orcutt | Winslow designed the high school, which is being built by Core Construction. According to local media coverage, the construction company used virtual reality technology to enable stakeholders to see what the new school would look like.

Students will attend classes within one of four distinct academies: STEM, medical and social health, business and marketing, and fine arts.

What's unique is that each academy will have its own space, which mimics what students would experience in the real world. As Principal Paul Gagnon explained in a video, the business and marketing students will be able to run a student store where they'll be able to market their materials. The fine arts students will work in an environment set up like a film and TV studio. The medical students will study in a space that mimics a hospital setting. And the STEM students will be "in an engineering lab where they can build things just like they would in any robotics-type setting."

As the academies grow, each will have dedicated specialists to serve as guidance counselors. Currently, the school is also seeking professional partnerships "so that our students can truly learn from the people that are doing the work out in the field and have access to that knowledge to make them more successful and more prepared for the future," said Gagnon.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Different Starting Points, Same End Goal

    Higher education campuses can enhance student experience by implementing mobile credentials to streamline building access, on-campus payments, and access to other amenities. This enables students to connect to their campuses through the technology they use most: their mobile devices.

  • textured paper collage shows a school building on fire as a fire truck sprays water into the flames

    Why a Fire Loss Is More than Flames

    We've all seen what fire damage can do to a property, but the types of damage building owners often encounter after a fire loss can exceed expectations. Having full awareness of the different forms of damage properties can sustain helps owners respond faster, reduce continued damage, and get back on the road to recovery in short order.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • UNL Kiewit Hall

    Designing for Engineering Excellence: Integrating Sustainability and Wellness at UNLs Kiewit Hall

    Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln exemplifies how academic institutions can integrate sustainability and wellness into modern learning environments. With an integrated and collaborative team approach, Kiewit Hall addresses enhanced learning and creativity, physical health, and mental wellness, and fosters a sense of community through innovative design, operations, and policy solutions.

Digital Edition