Birmingham City Schools Interim Superintendent Dr. Spencer Horn has been selected to receive a national award for his work as an outstanding leader of the school system’s Academies of Birmingham program, which helps students prepare for college and careers in finance, hospitality and tourism, information technology, health sciences or engineering.
Dr. Spencer Horn
Dr. Horn will receive the 2015 National Academy Foundation Janet Linton Leadership Award, which recognizes outstanding academy directors and educational leaders who’ve had an impact on student achievement and inspired teachers and school supporter to find new ways to make a difference. The award will be presented at the NAF Next 2015 conference, which will be held in Anaheim, Calif. in July. Academies of Birmingham is part of the National Academy Foundation network.
Dr. Horn said it is an honor to have been selected to receive the NAF leadership award, but the true honor and recognition belong to the Academies of Birmingham coordinators, teachers, administrators, parents and students for understanding “we must approach education in a different way.”
“We understand there is a clear divide between students in our country. A divide not in ability, not in desire, not in knowledge or intellect, but a divide of access, exposure and meaningful connections to career opportunities at an early age,” Dr. Horn said. “In Birmingham City Schools, this divide is being overcome for all of our students through the Academies of Birmingham.”
“With Academies of Birmingham, graduation is not just a goal but a given as students receive the academic rigor they need as well as understand the relationship and relevance of what they are learning in a much deeper way.”
More than 980 students are enrolled in the Academies of Birmingham, which also attracts students living outside the city limits. Students are studying accounting, marketing, advertising, civil engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace, plumbing contracting, architecture, hotel and resort management and more.
Six Birmingham high schools offer the following fields of study:
- A.H. Parker High School has an Academy of Urban Educators and is establishing an Academy of Health Sciences
- G.W. Carver High School has an Academy of Engineering and an Academy of Health and Sciences
- Huffman High School has an Academy of Architecture and Construction Design
- P.D. Jackson-Olin High School has an Academy of Health Sciences and is establishing an Academy of Information Technology
- Wenonah High School has an Academy of Hospitality and Tourism
- Woodlawn High School has an Academy of Business and Finance and is establishing an Academy of Arts and Environmental Sciences.
Students must apply to enroll in the academy program, which starts in the tenth grade. However, Carver High School’s engineering program starts in the ninth grade.
Students take core academic courses and industry-specific classes related to their field of study. They also participate in work-based learning activities, job shadowing and internships, as well as focus on essential soft skills to help them put their lessons into action. Several corporations and organizations support the Academies of Birmingham, including the Birmingham Education Foundation.
Academies of Birmingham students have received top state awards and have been involved in major projects. Recently, the Academy of Architecture and Construction Design students at Huffman High School built homes for Habitat for Humanity and assisted with the stage design for TEDxBirmingham. Meanwhile, a student in Woodlawn High School’s Academy of Business and Finance was a guest speaker at a Rotary Club of Birmingham luncheon. Carver’s engineering students placed second and fourth in the state in a 2014 robotics competition, which required coding a robot to send it through an obstacle course, at the University of Alabama. In February, two Carver health sciences students placed third in a state competition for extemporaneous writing and job-speaking skills. One academy student from Jackson-Olin and two academy students from Huffman hold high-level state leadership positions in organizations connected to the academy for their field of study.
Academy students from Carver and Wenonah high schools have been nominated as Outstanding Student of the Year for this year’s Best in Minority Business Awards, which will be announced on Friday, March 20 at The Club.
Also on Friday, Academies of Birmingham juniors will hone their job interview skills during a career development conference presented by the Birmingham Education Foundation and the Rotary Club Birmingham at the Harbert Center.
An induction ceremony for 200 sophomores entering the Academies of Birmingham for the 2015-2016 school year will be held on Thursday, April 30 at 10 a.m. at Boutwell Auditorium.
Dr. Horn has worked in education for more than 25 years. He has served as coordinator of Academies in Birmingham since 2012. In December 2014, the Birmingham City School Board appointed Dr. Horn to serve as the system’s interim superintendent.
Randall Woodfin, president of the Birmingham City Schools Board, said he’s proud of Dr. Horn’s honor and what he has done for the Academies of Birmingham and the entire system. “This is an extraordinary award for an extraordinary leader,” Woodfin said. “His effective leadership skills, combined with the hard work of so many others, have led to good results for Birmingham City Schools.”
Please click this link for information on how to apply for the Academies of Birmingham.