Science school accepting applications

The agricultural science school that will open in Springfield on Aug. 21 is accepting applications now from interested eighth graders.

The Global Impact STEM Academy will open for its first year at Clark State Community College’s Leffel Lane campus. The school will accept an inaugural class of about 75 incoming freshmen, Interim Director Carl Berg said.

Founded by state Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, the Global Impact school would be the first regional science, technology, engineering and math school in the state dedicated to a specific industry, in this case agricultural science. Agriculture accounts for one in seven jobs in Ohio.

The school will eventually find its permanent home in the former South High School, with a planned enrollment of 600 students in ninth through 12th grades.

Students from across Ohio are eligible to attend the school tuition-free, but officials expect most students to come from Clark and surrounding counties. The only requirement for acceptance is that students complete eighth grade or its equivalent.

“Students with a passion for science will be more likely to succeed,” Berg said.

The school will connect students with the food, fuel, energy and fiber industries through hands-on learning, according to supporters.

“By exploring these areas, you’re preparing for specific careers,” said John Jennings, who will take over as the school’s director starting in July. “High wage, high skill and high demand (careers).”

The school will operate on the basis of “mastery” with students spending as much or as little time as they need in a course to master the concepts, , said Berg.

“For the students that get it easily, they can go on and do other things and get credit for it and for the times that students struggle, the extra support will be there so they can achieve mastery, more on their own time table, but still achieve it during their time at school,” he said.

The school year will have two terms, broken up by a short term when students can either spend more time on a course they haven’t mastered or participate in enhancement activities.

The first two years of the student’s education will focus on mastery of the content areas required for high school graduation; by junior and senior year, students will spend time exploring careers through internships or earning college credit through post-secondary education.

“There’s an opportunity to have some real solid college credit before you even graduate high school,” Jennings said.

Students can learn more about the school at its website, globalimpactacademy.org. Applications are preferred by May 24. If the number of interested students exceeds available space, a lottery will be used to determine who is accepted.

About the Author