New Graphic Arts Academy Planned For Northview High

November 9, 2010

A new graphics art career academy is planned for Northview High School.

The Escambia County School Board is expected to approve the Northview High School Graphic Arts Career Academy at their November 16 meeting. The academy will open next fall for the 2010-2011 school year.

The academy will focus on a digital art and design curriculum that can lead students to industry certifications and internships related to graphic design.

Students will learn through a hands-on approach, according to the school district, using the Adobe Creative Suite and the Microsoft Office Suite, under the leadership of instructor Donna Smith.

“Mrs. Donna Smith is a great business teacher, and she has worked diligently over the years to not only stay abreast of the fast-changing technology software programs, but she has also used her time to become industry certified. Through her efforts, Northview has been declared a Certiport Testing Site,” said Northview Principal Gayle Weaver. “With her industry certification, not only is Mrs. Smith able to test Northview students and give them the opportunity to become certified applicants in the job field, but she has also single-handedly increased the points toward our school grade, through the addition of students who pass the industry certification test.”

This year, there are 33 students enrolled in the Digital Design Program at Northview . These students will be given an opportunity to enroll in the new career academy. Other students in the country will be able to apply for NHS Graphic Arts Academy.

Northview is currently home to a Building Trades and Construction Design Academy.

The School District of Escambia County’s career academies are small learning communities within a school that focus on a career pathway for a two to four year period span. Students enter through a voluntary application process and take a mixture of career and academic classes each year.

Classes meet entrance requirements for four-year universities. Students develop knowledge in a given industry, and usually have opportunities to earn industry certification relevant to the career academy. Students’ senior year may include work experience in the community.

Comments

12 Responses to “New Graphic Arts Academy Planned For Northview High”

  1. former student on November 11th, 2010 7:38 pm

    I had Mrs. Smith, back before she was Mrs. Smith, she was one of my favorite teachers and the best FBLA advisor out there. I am excited that she is being forwarded this opportunity! Congrats!

  2. DAVIS NABIMANYA on November 11th, 2010 6:23 am

    this is really nice i would like to join

  3. Just saying on November 10th, 2010 5:44 pm

    This outs what west florida is already doing for this areas students, I know three kids that attend WFHS, and they say its awesome…. They learn photoshop, and digital fundamentals, then they go on to web design then, on to the new 3D animation programs, but it might be great for northview to get up to speed.

  4. Good Job on November 10th, 2010 11:52 am

    This is a great opportunity for the students that attend and will attend NHS. I understand the concern for the over-saturation in the digital art industry but if you do research you will see that digital art and design is a field of study that can lead to so many other careers outside of being an artist. The start of a new academy should be viewed as a wonderful opportunity for students. I wish more schools would explore the possibility of implementing academies.

    Also, Mrs. Smith is a great teacher and has worked hard over the years to stay abreast of the latest technologies. I wish her the best and I hope that parents will encourage their children to participate in this opportunity. Keep up the good work!

  5. D357R0Y on November 10th, 2010 10:51 am

    My friend owns/runs a screen printing shop and recently ran a wanted ad for a graphic artist. He informed me that he had almost 1000 (that’s one thousand) applicants for the position. This is a prime example of over-saturation in this particular field.

    Just a heads up to the potential graphic artists out there.

  6. Student on November 9th, 2010 10:25 pm

    Sounds cool……

  7. JU on November 9th, 2010 7:38 pm

    Thats awesome now only if they could get some stuff going for Auto CAD and engineering that would be good to have as well.

  8. Thinker on November 9th, 2010 4:54 pm

    Graphic expression is thinking. Nuff said. Good to hear.

  9. rhonda---no longer in Bratt... on November 9th, 2010 12:22 pm

    I think this is awesome!

  10. Janice Parker on November 9th, 2010 10:44 am

    This sounds wonderful. All students need to take advantage of this!

  11. Rita on November 9th, 2010 8:04 am

    Awesome!! Way to go, Northview..

  12. Citizen on November 9th, 2010 12:23 am

    This is cool. It is nice to see a technology related academy in a north end school. There’s nothing wrong with construction and electrical, but computer related is good to have in in the mix.