Providing students with a strong foundation in personal and professional finance
Andrew Rothstein
Curriculum Manager, National Academy Foundation, US
Traditional public high schools in the United States typically provide a general educational focus for students, without any specialized training for those interested in careers within such fields as Finance and Engineering. The National Academy Foundation has complemented the current system for over twenty years by providing unique, career-themed Academies with context-rich curricula that enhance the futures of young men and women in urban centers across the country.
Over the past two decades, the National Academy Foundation has been a pioneer and innovative force in the school-to-career movement and a leader among efforts to create smaller, theme-based learning environments for teens. The largest school-to-career program in the country, NAF’s mission is to sustain a national network of career academies to support the development of America’s youth toward personal and professional success in high school, in higher education, and throughout their futures. NAF Academies represent business and school partnerships that prepare young people for future careers through a combination of school-based curricula and work-based experiences.
NAF builds partnerships between high schools and businesses to develop career-themed academies - small learning communities where students create relevant, experience-based connections from rigorous study and practical work experiences.
The organization also helps school districts create new and smaller learning environments for students, and focuses on small, career-themed learning communities supported by professional development and partnerships between schools and business.
“NAF’s small school vision emphasizes academic excellence while preparing students to pursue professional careers in the corporate sector. This vision has evolved into a premier reform model for public education throughout the country, and has helped inspire the contemporary small school/ small learning community movement,” stated Andrew Rothstein, Senior Director of Curriculum and Academics for NAF.
NAF also supports a nationwide network of educators and Academies, offering leadership, quality assurance, curricula, staff development, business partnerships, on-call assistance, and a community of colleagues working in "schools within schools" and individual small schools nationwide. By doing so, it continues to forge new career academies and transform existing schools by emphasizing:
- Personalization and social supports
- Teaching and learning in context
- High standards and elimination of programs that track students
- Professional learning communities
- Leadership development
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