If attendance at the first Academy Showcase is any indication, Santa Barbara Unified District High School academy programs will be getting a lot of applications next year.
Students from the seven academies hosted an open house last week to show off the unique skills of each program. More than 700 people came to the two-hour presentation, district spokeswoman Barbara Keyani said.
“There was a lot of energy in the room,” she said.
Academy directors gave short pitches at every junior high school earlier in the week, and families were invited to Wednesday’s open house to learn more about the programs. They also got to talk to high school students one-on-one.
The district has February deadlines for transferring schools, so eighth-graders who want to join an academy in high school must decide soon.
Many of the academies have specific academic requirements for applying, so prospective students are advised to check directly with the individual programs for any prerequisites for acceptance.
Dos Pueblos High School is home to the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy and the International Baccalaureate program.
San Marcos High School has the Health Careers Academy, the Accelerated Academic Program for Leadership and Enrichment (AAPLE Academy) and the Entrepreneurship Academy, which is in its first year.
Santa Barbara High School has the Visual Arts & Design Academy and the Multimedia Arts & Design Academy, which just opened a new building on campus.
The district’s transfer application period opens Jan. 6 for the 2014-2015 school year, and the deadline is Feb. 18. The Santa Barbara district allows students to transfer from school to school within the district, but hasn’t accepted students from outside the district since 2009.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
