Newman Smith High School celebrates grand opening of NAF Academy of Innovation

Press Release
September 21, 2022
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Originally posted on Carrollton Leader.

By; Arianna Morrison

NAF Academy of Innovation instructor showing attendees at the grand opening what NAF Academy scholars will be building in their classes.

Students, faculty and professionals from Newman Smith High School, Raytheon Intelligence and Space, and NAF came together to celebrate the grand opening of the NAF Newman Smith Academy of Innovation.

On Monday, Sept. 19 at Newman Smith High School, the district and community congregated to commemorate the NAF Newman Smith Academy of Innovation with a ribbon cutting and a ceremony where several leading in the community, the high school, Raytheon and NAF spoke.

Kicking off the ceremony, Dr. Stephanie Martin Jimenez, the Principal of Newman Smith High School, spoke about the mission of the academy and the several individuals who were involved in bringing the institution to life.

“They’ve helped us to get right where we are today and they will help our scholars develop not only skills, but aspirations that will help them open their eyes to what could lay ahead of them,” Jimenez said.

A look outside the NAF Academy of Innovation “STEM HUB” located in Newman Smith High School.

In the first four years, the goal of an NAF Academy is to have 400 students enrolled in the program. Newman Smith already has 370 students enrolled for the first year.

Mayor Steve Babick was at the event, speaking on the importance of what it means to have a growing school district and acknowledging the work Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD has done in helping the city grow, especially with the new NAF Academy of Innovation.

“It’s fundamental when we think about our city vision to be the community that families and businesses want to call home,” Babick said. “The reason they want to call their home home is in large part because of the schools that they send their children to and we couldn’t do it without our partnership with CFB. It’s vitally important.”

A look inside the NAF Academy of Innovation at the grand opening on Monday, Sept. 19.

Along with the city’s partnership with CFBISD, the district’s partnership with Raytheon and NAF are allowing the school to help their students achieve more from the STEM curriculum through the new academy

With the help of NAF and Raytheon, students from Dallas and Denton Counties serviced by the CFBISD can benefit from the new academy where they will have access to three programs of study: Programming and Software Development, Cybersecurity, and Advanced Manufacturing and Machinery Mechanics. These programs will help students get certified and get jobs straight out of high school or prepare them for college.

Raytheon started to partner with NAF and local school districts to build more academies in the company’s key markets, said CeCe Wysong, director of the CIO, Raytheon Intelligence & Space. Dallas-Fort Worth markets, specifically with Carrollton, were key to building relationships with STEM professionals.

“When you look at Raytheon technologies, and some of the other businesses on our advisory board, they’re needing that technology mindset when it comes to science, technology, engineering, and math,” Wysong said. “The future problems that we have to work together on are our key, therefore around technology. And so by coming here, where we have such a vibrant market, and where we have a lot of our major markets, it just made sense to come to this location.”

There are 46 NAF academies in Texas, with the newest one being at Newman Smith High School, and there are 574 academies throughout the U.S., aimed at providing advanced opportunities for students interested in STEM.

NAF has academies in 35 states across the country and has several academies in the DFW area, but the organization is focused on growing and placing more in states that may not have them yet, said Liz Perez, chief partnership officer for NAF.

One of the classrooms inside the NAF Academy of Innovation with rows of computers for their scholars to use.

“We are fortunate that we’ve been partnering with Raytheon technologies, who actually has been supporting us and expanding academies in the communities where they have the biggest presence,” Perez said. “So when we knew we wanted to expand in the Dallas area, and we knew Raytheon had a facility nearby, we had that conversation with Raytheon, and then had the conversation with the district.tml

The number of STEM jobs is expected to grow by 8% by 2029, particularly in the fields of computing, engineering and advanced manufacturing, according to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, January 2021. For the state of Texas, there are approximately 100,000 cyber jobs that need to be filled and 377,000 vacant jobs in the U.S.

The new NAF Academy of Innovation at Newman Smith High School is aimed at helping the state and country fill those vacancies with students that are passionate about STEM.

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