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MCPSS will hold a Signature Academy Showcase on Tuesday, Jan. 9, at the USA Mitchell Center from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. This event is a chance for MCPSS students and their parents to learn about the different Career Academies in MCPSS high schools, which are small learning communities with a high-wage, high-demand focus for 10th through 12th grade students.
Any MCPSS eighth-grader (or ninth-grader at Barton Academy) may apply to transfer into any of the Signature Academies in MCPSS’s 12 high schools. Each academy offers multiple career paths. The application portal to apply to a Signature Academy will open on Jan. 9 and will close on Feb. 9. To learn more, click here: https://mccte.schoolinsites.com/mcpssacademies .
Here is a brief overview of the Signature Academies:
Baker High School's Advanced Placement Capstone Academy, a diploma program from the College Board requiring successful completion of AP Seminar and AP Research. These courses develop skills in research, analysis, evidence-based arguments, collaboration, writing, and presenting. Students who complete the two-year program may earn one of two different AP Capstone awards, which are valued by colleges across the United States and around the world. Baker’s Academies include course offerings in the following fields: business, engineering, fine arts and media entertainment, health sciences, hospitality and tourism, early childhood education, marine zoological environmental sciences and transportation and public service.
Blount High School: At Blount High, the Signature Academy is Allied Health, which offers courses of study to prepare students for jobs in nursing, sports medicine, emergency medical response, and many other medical careers. Blount's additional Career Academies are Business, Hospitality and Tourism, Leadership (JROTC), and Construction, Manufacturing, and Transportation.
Alma Bryant High School: At Bryant High, the Signature Academy is Coastal Studies, with five pathway options: Agriscience, Coastal Environmental Science, Fisheries Management and Aquaculture, Maritime and Industrial Technologies, and Restaurant, Food and Beverage Services. The Agriscience courses include Power, Structure, and Technical Systems; Environmental & natural Resources Systems; Animal Systems; Plant Systems; and Agribusiness Systems.
Citronelle High School's Manufacturing Academy has four courses of study: Advanced Manufacturing, Automotive, Engineering (Project Lead the Way), and Welding. These classes prepare students to obtain nationally recognized certifications, which lead to quality career opportunities in the manufacturing industry. Citronelle High also offers courses of study in agriculture, health sciences, hospitality and tourism, leadership, and technology.
Davidson High School offers three academic programs: Engineering Pathway Integrated Curriculum (EPIC), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Multiple Academic Pathways to Success (MAPS). Each career academy and pathway provides unique benefits, and students may also choose to be a part of multiple programs. EPIC is a college preparatory STEM academy. All EPIC freshmen take the EPIC Career Prep course to learn basic computer skills necessary for success in their core classes. They will also explore the three EPIC pathways to determine which area best fits with their career interests. EPIC pathways and courses include biomedical studies, computer science, and engineering.
LeFlore Magnet High School’s Signature Academies are Law, Health Services, and Fine Arts and Media Entertainment (FAME). These academies are designed to introduce students to careers and opportunities in performing and visual arts, legal services, leadership and public safety, health sciences, and marketing.
Mary G. Montgomery High: The Signature Academy at Mary G. Montgomery High has two pathways: biomedical sciences and sports medicine. MGM’s academies include courses in agri-business, business management, hospitality and tourism, engineering sciences, career and technical, and fine arts.
Murphy High's Murphy University Center (MUC) offers two courses of study: International Baccalaureate and Early College. Students take Pre-MUC, Honors, and AP classes during their freshman and sophomore years before beginning an IB and/or Early College curriculum in the 11th and 12th grades. Murphy has partnered with the University of Alabama and Bishop State Community College so that students may earn college credit during their junior and senior years.
B.C. Rain High's Signature Academy is Aviation and Aerospace Engineering. The school offers additional courses of study in business management, fine arts, health sciences, marketing, and leadership. Knowledge gained by students in this cluster includes science and mathematics principles applicable to engineering and engineering related careers.
Theodore High's Signature Academy is Engineering and Industry. Students may choose between pre-engineering and drafting on campus, or the industrial pathway, which includes 13 programs held on the Bryant Career Tech Center campus. Other academies at Theodore include logistics; health care and dental services; marketing; business and leadership; and arts and humanities.
At Vigor High, the Academy of Advanced Information Technology has three pathways: Computer Programming and Software Development, Networking Systems, and the Virtual Reality Pathway. Additional courses of study include the academies of public services; broadcasting; business; and culinary arts.
At Williamson High, the Signature Academy is Maritime, Engineering and Entrepreneurship, programs designed to prepare students for jobs in welding, electrical work, small business and many other related careers.
