CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The Academy of Business and Finance at Clarksville High School is adding up their numbers.
They have 72 incoming freshmen and, according to Academy administrator Shannon Cummings, they even took in a few extra sophomores.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System's topic-based academy system is designed to graduate college- and career-ready students.
Each high school has one of these “schools within a school” aligned with a specific career or college preparatory theme. These create small learning communities where a select group of students with a common interest share many of the same teachers, allowing educators to coordinate lesson plans and classroom activities around the academy theme.
Cummings said more than 10 percent of academy students from each freshman and sophomore class is from outside the CHS school zone.
Cummings feels that getting the word out about the variety of academies, and having guidance counselors talking to their middle school students, has helped.
Sophomore Cody Spurgeon thought last year was a good experience. He feels the academy taught him what planning he needs to do if he were to open a business. He thought one of the biggest challenges as a student was working together in groups. “We all had different ideas, so we just put them all together to get a grade,” Cody said.
Five teachers from the academy spent a couple days each on an externship with Clarksville Sporting Goods on Riverside Drive and with Legends Bank.
One of those teachers, Heather Bryant, is returning from last year. “This year, sophomores will be expected to have their plans more in-depth, and they will be held to a higher standard,” she said.
Bryant said the sophomores’ challenge this semester is to choose their own business and present the plan to either representatives from Legends Bank or Clarksville Sporting Goods.