National Academy Foundation (non-profit Organization) - Purposes and Components

Purposes and Components

'College prep plus' aptly describes the career academies of the NAF. The National Academy Foundation sponsors these differing institutions of learning to encourage and facilitate both preparation for college and technical training in a career path.

NAF academies can be characterized as ‘schools within schools’ and serving a small community of students for two or more years. Normally these academies are run and taught by the same teachers for a number of semesters. During that time a number of different components come together to prepare students for both a potential career and going onto college. The teachers of the academies generally are skilled in both academic and the technical knowledge of the field in which the academy is focused. They meet often to coordinate the curriculum, take care of administrative details and are involved outside the classroom with local businesses and sponsors.

Summer internships of about six to eight weeks are centerpieces of the academy programs and usually pay the students for their work. During the internship the students spend some time training and often report to a school staff supervisor and sometimes have a workplace mentor. Seniors in the program combine work-based learning with corresponding curricular activities to learn more about the industry, job, “explore careers, plan for college, and develop their social and interpersonal skills.”

There have been significant reports and statistics on the outcome of students from these Career Academies. Milton Chen, author of Education Nation and former executive director for the George Lucas Educational Foundation, sums up the most recent reports:

- In comparison with non-academy students, graduates of NAF institutes earn on average of 11% more per year in the eight years after graduation. - While most academies are located in urban areas where the average high school graduation rate is 50%, over 90% of NAF students graduate high school - Over half of these graduates earn bachelor’s degrees in four years while the national average is only 32%.

Currently the National Academy Foundation focuses on four career themes: Finance, Hospitality & Tourism, Information Technology, or Engineering. These themes are carried out by teachers supported by NAF professional development, training, technical support and curriculum. NAF academies usually run the last two years of high school but some are looking to expand the length of the programs so as to better prepare students for college and/or a career.