Toms River Schools Preparing To Launch 3 Academies

TOMS RIVER, NJ — When school opens in September, three groups of Toms River high school students will be part of the launch of three new career academies in the district.

The career academies are the first in the district, and are part of a trend at schools around the country to provide highly specialized and targeted courses for students that are designed to prepare them for specialized college programs, district officials said.

"Students are best prepared for success in the careers and higher learning opportunities of today and tomorrow when they are afforded experiences that focus on solving real world problems using a variety of skills, mindsets, materials and tools," the district's website says.

Private and parochial schools, vocational career academies, and other options are drawing away "top performing students from neighborhood schools, often to the detriment of the home school and the students themselves, who miss out on the broad and varied opportunities only that public school can offer," the district said.

The three academies opening in the fall are the Arts Academy, the STEAM Academy, and the Business Academy. The Arts Academy, with the schools of Performing, Fine and Digital Arts, will be held at Toms River High School North. The STEAM Academy (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) at Toms River East includes schools of Engineering, Biomedicine and Environmental Sustainability, with content in marine science, medicine, engineering, science research, genetics, advanced manufacturing, and more. The Business Academy will be at Toms River South and will feature Schools of Finance, Entrepreneurship and Real Estate. Each academy is accepting 25 students into each of its three "schools," a total of 75 students per academy. The district said other career academies will be launched in the future.

The district said seats in academy-specific courses not filled by academy students may be made available to other students, and guest speakers, presentations and programs (like research project poster sessions) will be shared with the entire student body. If there is student interest, courses piloted in the academies will be expanded for all to enroll in.

The academies benefit from improvements already made in the district, from the makerspaces, where students create solutions hands-on, to millions of dollars in technology upgrades thgat have provided students with access to state-of-the-art wireless resources.

"The Academies will also better address state curriculum standards, career clusters and career ready practices. New Jersey’s seven key industry clusters are: Advanced Manufacturing, Biopharmaceuticals & Life Sciences; Financial Services; Healthcare; Technology; Transportation, Logistics & Distribution. Combined, these six employ half of the labor force and pay two-thirds of the wages statewide, forming the foundation of the state’s economy," the district said.

Adding the academies — career pathways in high schools — lets students focus on learning things relevant to their desired career path in ways that "meld rigorous academic content with contextual learning," meaning they are challenged to meet high standards while at the same time learning in way they can apply to their future, the district said.

Image via Toms River Regional School District