East Career and Technical Academy received the top merit award this year from Magnet Schools of America - the No. 1 honor among the association's many awards. At East, students can choose from eight programs of study ranging from early childhood education to mechanical technology. The students know they're in a special place. "I feel like with them expecting a lot from us, it kind of pushes us toward better," said marketing program junior Aurora Osuna.
15-year-old Dylan Lamouroux's father, Jesse, watched as he learned to baste a chicken breast at Northwest Career and Technical Academy Friday. Instead of parents bringing their kids to work, parents got a look at what their teens were doing in school this week. The magnet school includes programs in culinary arts, medical professions, teacher education, mechanical technology, construction technology, engineering and design.
Life sciences teacher Kimberly Law helped start an animal program more than 10 years ago with a couple of snakes, which were offered as a way for students to gain a hands-on, real-life study of the subject. Her class, which she began teaching full-time in 2012, has since expanded to include an "animal lab" classroom with exotic birds, reptiles and rodents.
Raise the level of performance consistent throughout school districts nationwide and creates a platform from which all magnet schools can flourish. Magnet Schools of America’s national certification process is designed to recognize the hard work of the best magnet schools in the nation and to help them as they grow.