History
NAF was created by philanthropist Sanford I. Weill. His proposal was accepted by the New York City Board of Education resulted in the opening of the first Academy of Finance in a Brooklyn public high school in 1982. The program was designed specifically to address the lack of opportunity for young people in New York City.
As Weill explained in his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee:
| “ | You saw young people playing in the street, young people without having a clue of what life was about, and how they can become part of the system. That was the beginning of the idea that maybe the private sector should get together with the public sector and see if we can create a high-school level program that can expose young people for a career in the financial services industry. | ” |
In 1987, NAF's Hospitality and Tourism theme was launched with the opening of two pilot Academies, one in Miami, Florida and another in Richmond Hill, New York, with support from the American Express Foundation.
In 2000 NAF piloted a third theme, opening Academies of Information Technology in 12 high schools across the country with support from Lucent, AT&T Corporation, United Technologies, GTE/Verizon, Oracle, Computer Associates and Compaq.
In 2002, the first set of Career Academies outside the US were set up in the United Kingdom by Career Academies UK, affiliated to NAF
In 2007 NAF launched its fourth academy theme, the Academy of Engineering as a collaboration between NAF, Project Lead The Way (PLTW), and the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Inc. (NACME) to provide underrepresented students with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in STEM careers.
The latest theme launched in 2011-2012, the Academy of Health Sciences is s already making an impact in preparing young people for health careers.
As of As of the 2011-2012 school year, NAF academies operate in 162 school districts in 39 states,the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
NAF supports a national network of 60,000 students in 469 academies:
- 208 Academies of Finance
- 74 Academies of Hospitality & Tourism
- 105 Academies of Information Technology
- 62 Academies of Engineering
- 15 Academies of Health Sciences
Read more about this topic: National Academy Foundation
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