• Across the nation, career academies are providing high school students a relevant and modern course of study that prepares them for today's high-skill and high-wage work opportunities. Pinellas County Schools is leading the way with its Academies of Pinellas and has been recognized nationally for its groundbreaking achievements. As part of that effort, focused on the future of our students, Dunedin High School offers three different STEM programs of study within our Academy of Architecture, Robotics and Construction Technology (ARC).

     

    Students in our ARC programs get the best of both worlds. As part of the academy, they join a community of learners who, together with their instructors, gain work-based learning experiences and industry certifications that lead to employment after graduation or valued experience toward a post-secondary education. At the same time, they are a member of the Falcon student body, enjoying the same core academic classes, extracurricular activities and friendships that create a memorable and fun high school experience.

     

    Choosing a career academy has proven to be a successful choice, as graduation rates, GPAs and attendance rates are all higher for academy students, as compared to the non-academy students. This early success can set the course for a bright future for any student!

     

    ARC students in all programs benefit from SKILLS USA competitions, Ford Next Generation contests, field trips, connections to St. Pete College and Pinellas Technical College, and mentoring from professional advisory committee members. 

    Our latest trip was to Polypack Corporation:  ARC Field Trip to Polypack Corporation

     

    We are having our first advisory board meeting of the year and looking for new members and members that would like to serve on our governing board (president vice president, secretary and treasurer). The types of people we are looking for on the advisory board include:

     

    ·        Student (s)

    ·        Parent (s)

    ·        Middle grade representative

    ·        Business/Industry

    ·        Community

     

    Anyone who is interested our first meeting is at 3 pm on September 21 via Teams. We meet 4 times a year for about an hour. They can email either myself, Dr. Deeley or Mr. Szymanski and we can send them the link to the first meeting.