Students who look forward to their school’s annual science fair will find a fit for their fascination at two new STEM magnet high schools preparing to open next fall in Fulton County.
Both the Innovation Academy in Alpharetta and the Global Impact Academy in Union City will be geared toward kids who want to flex their creative, technological and innovative muscles.
“Every day will look like a science fair,” said Tim Duncan, Innovation’s principal. “We believe in projects and problem solving, so the whole school is a lab. Where the hallways might be filled with trophies from the past in a traditional school, ours will be filled with projects.”
The concept comes with a catch: Students only have until Tuesday to apply.
“We started the process October 15, and we’re still accepting applicants,” said GIA Principal Anthony Newbold. “Like anything else, it was heavy early on, then it waned, so we still have room to accept students.”
The goal for GIA is to open with 500 students, the Alpharetta school with 900, in ninth and 10th grades. Once the classes are full, a lottery system will kick in.
Both principals expect the extensive offerings to draw a full cohort.
“First, they’re full of maker spaces, areas designed for students to exercise creativity and to prototype,” said Newbold. “We’re also hanging our hats on the design thinking process in both instruction and working on real-world problems.”
Every aspect of the schools has been enhanced, said Duncan. “We don’t have a traditional environment. Our labs for instance, look more like what you’d see in college or the workplace.”
Both schools have partnered with Georgia Tech to develop the curriculum and create projects for students to study and solve using STEM skill sets. Other collaborations with companies in the communities will enhance the learning process.
“We’ve already established strong partnerships so our students are exposed to various walks of life and professions,” said Newbold. “On my end, we’ve engaged with Microsoft, IBM, Norfolk Southern, Duracell, Zoo Atlanta and the Department of Natural Resources to hit on all areas of STEM because you never know what will resonate with a student.”
Those sorts of pairings are a major change, said Duncan.
“I was a traditional high school principal for a long time, and partnerships were usually about swapping a check for a sign,” he said. “This gives us a new way to engage with the community that’s not about a sign advertising a business. It’s about how they can help our students with mentorships and curriculum advisement. And our corporate partners are excited about helping us shape the workforce.”
One of the schools’ biggest challenges will be figuring out what the workforce is, said Newbold.
“Sixty-five percent of school-aged students will work at jobs that don’t yet exist,” he said. “Exposing them to different walks of life might start a spark. We think we can light that spark through our projects and programs.”
Information about the Innovation Academy is online at fultonschools.org/innovationacademy. Details on the Global Impact Academy are at fultonschools.org/globalimpactacademy.
SEND US YOUR STORIES. Each week we look at programs, projects and successful endeavors at area schools, from pre-K to grad school. To suggest a story, contact H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or 770-744-3042.
