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NAF is an industry-sponsored nonprofit with a national network of public-private partnerships that support career academies within traditional high schools. Each academy focuses on a theme that addresses the anticipated future needs of local industry and the community it serves in five major "college prep plus" fields of study that encourage and facilitate college preparation and technical training on career paths in
finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...
, hospitality and tourism,
information technology Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
(IT),
engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
, and
health sciences The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to health sciences: Health sciences – those sciences that focus on health, or health care, as core parts of their subject matter. Health sciences relate to multiple a ...
. In 2019, the
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...
awarded eight
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
organizations, including NAF, with a $2 million grant for "reduc ngbarriers to opportunity." The program is designed to build a work-ready future
workforce In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed): \text = \text + \text Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...
by emphasizing
STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...
-related industry-specific curricula in the classroom and work-based learning experience, including summer
internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used to practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and g ...
s. NAF has created career academies in 620 high schools in high-need communities in the contiguous United States and its territories since 1980. In one high-profile example, it partnered with United Technologies in 2020, launching two $3 million engineering academies in high schools in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, corporate partner
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
created a virtual internship program to accommodate social distancing protocol for participants. Numerous studies of the NAF model have concluded that "sustained, quality employer involvement in education is possible," and that their programming helps provide equitable opportunities for minority students in "low-socioeconomic and high-risk backgrounds." Other research also credits the work-study model with promoting successful equity and inclusion.


Program

Characterized as "schools within schools," NAF academies serve a small community of students who are "organized as a cohort over their four years of high school" Academy teachers are typically skilled in both academic and the technical knowledge of the field in which the academy is focused. They are provided support with NAF professional development, training and curricula that integrates "core subject area content, career-themed content or technical education under a specified theme" ... based on NAF's input, that of CTE (Career Technical Education) and the local labor markets. Teachers meet often to coordinate the curriculum, take care of administrative details and are involved outside the classroom with local businesses and sponsors "to make learning relevant with real-world career support to build strong connections between school and work." The academies are typically run and taught by the same teachers for a number of semesters. Summer internships of about six to eight weeks are a focal point of the academy programs, and usually pay the students for their work. During internships, the students spend some time training, 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, and to "explore careers, plan for college, and develop their social and interpersonal skills." As a result of the program, one Massachusetts student "complete a 120-hour internship and pass da college-accredited accounting course while in high school ... then "she took an early college program," and arrived at college with "a 27-credit head start on her business administration degree (with a concentration in accounting)."


History

In 1980, the first Academy of Finance opened in
John Dewey High School John Dewey High School is a public high school in Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded and based on the educational principles of John Dewey. The school, under the supervision of the New York City Department of Education, was name ...
in Brooklyn, New York, after the
New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...
accepted Sanford I. Weill's proposal to address the disconnect between the need for skilled workforce talent and the lack of opportunity for young people in New York City by creating a public-private partnership in high schools that exposed young people to genuine career skills. As he later explained to the
U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...
when testifying on the benefits of the program:
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.
Weill's initial program focused on finance, which was Weill's specialty. In 1987, NAF's launched a Hospitality and Tourism theme 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 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. Health Sciences, a theme launched in 2011–2012, quickly earned Academy of Health Sciences involvement to help prepare young people for careers in health.


Outcomes

There have been significant reports and statistics on the outcome of students from NAF's Career Academies. Milton Chen, author of ''Education Nation'' and former executive director for the George Lucas Educational Foundation, sums up the most recent reports: * Graduates of NAF institutes earn on average of 11% more per year in the eight years after graduation than non-academy students. * More than 90% of NAF students graduate high school, even though academies are located in urban areas where the average high school graduation rate is 50%. * More than 50% of NAF's high school graduates earn bachelor's degrees in four years while the national average is only 32%.Chen, Milton. Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in our Schools. Jossey-Bass a Wiley Imprint, San Francisco 2010 pp 56 In 2002, the first set of Career Academies outside the U.S. were set up in the United Kingdom by Career Academies UK, affiliated with NAF.


Governing academies

* Academy of Engineering *
Academy of Finance NAF is an industry-sponsored nonprofit with a national network of Public–private partnership, public-private partnerships that support career academies within traditional high schools. Each academy focuses on a theme that addresses the anticipat ...
* Academy of Hospitality and Tourism * Academy of Information Technology * Academy of Health Sciences


Academy of Finance

The Academy of Finance (AOF) is an American
educational program An educational program is a program written by the institution or ministry of education which determines the learning progress of each subject in all the stages of formal education. See also * Philosophy of education *Curriculum In education, ...
first established in 1982 by the National Academy Foundation. It offers high school students an opportunity to study accounting, international trade, leadership, and the use of technology in preparing for college and the financial services industry. NAF was created by
Phyllis Frankfort Phyllis or Phillis is a feminine given name of Greek origin meaning ''foliage''. Phyllis is a minor figure in Greek mythology who killed herself in despair when Demophon of Athens did not return to her and who was transformed into an almond t ...
, the Director of the Academy of Finance, in 1989. In 1981, she designed a program for the New York City Department of Education and for
Shearson Lehman Brothers Shearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward ShearsonSanford I. Weill. Her proposal for the "Institute for the Study of Finance" recommended a program for public high school students. Weill gave $100,000 to develop the program through Lehman Brothers' foundation, headed by D. Topol, which was matched by the New York City Board of Education. Frankfort designed and implemented the program and the first Academy of Finance opened at
John Dewey High School John Dewey High School is a public high school in Gravesend, Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded and based on the educational principles of John Dewey. The school, under the supervision of the New York City Department of Education, was name ...
in Brooklyn in 1982 with 35 students and grew to more than two hundred in 1984. The program, which subsequently grew to be nationwide, was designed to introduce young people in New York City to potential careers in the financial services industry.


See also

*
National Academy Foundation School National Academy Foundation School is a public secondary school located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is based on the National Academy Foundation educational design to have "small learning communities." The school was launched in 2 ...
– a high school in
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
based on NAF's school model.


References


External links

*
NAF

Career Academies UK
{{Authority control Non-profit organizations based in the United States Educational foundations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in New York City Schools by association * Apprenticeship Vocational education in the United States Schools programs