University City High School Partners With NAF For Academy Program

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — University City High School is partnering with NAF (formerly the National Academy Foundation, now just NAF), a national network of education, business and community leaders. As part of the partnership, the school will launch a new NAF academy that will help ensure students are prepared for the future, officials said Monday.

According to NAF, its academies are "small, focused learning communities that fit within and enhance high school systems." The program's flexible structure promotes collaboration across subject areas to meet students' needs, the group says.

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Starting next year, UCHS will be part of NAF's network of 675 academies across 36 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, according to a news release. The group provides high school students with career-focused instruction and hands-on experience in industries such as finance, hospitality and tourism, information technology, engineering and health science.

University City is just the second school district in the St. Louis area to partner with NAF. The district will begin implementation of its new NAF academy program during the 2019-20 school year. Students in the program will continue to take their core classes, just as before, but the academy will offer elective classes and unique learning opportunities within their chosen fields.

Officials said students will also be able to earn certifications that will create job or internship opportunities with NAF's corporate partners, such as MasterCard, Hewlett-Packard or World Wide Technology.

"We want our students to have already explored their strengths and interests, so they have a good idea of what their career path will look like when they leave high school," said Susan Hill, director of Pk-12 College and Career Readiness and Access. "NAF will prepare students to get them to and through college, or if they decide not to go directly to college, they're prepared to go in whatever career direction they choose."

To participate in the program, students entering 9th or 10th grade must take at least two classes in their chosen career path, in addition to being enrolled in dual-credit or college-level courses. Students will also have to complete a 150-hour paid internship.

Schools must also go through a competitive process to qualify for the partnership. To start its NAF academy, University City High School undertook a "rigorous" year-and-a-half of planning and preparation, officials said.

For more information, visit www.naf.org.

Photo: The RoboLions, University City High School's robotics team, demonstrate their robot at a STEM Fair held November 28. (J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)