In Teacher Academy, students receive three DMACC credits first semester and two for second semester. Simultaneously, they also receive two credits here for first semester and two more for second.

According to the course syllabus, the first semester class is the Introduction to Education course that all teachers must take to get into the profession. Students get a look at what’s going on in schools and they take notes, write papers and take quizzes just like other classes would.

They also take two afternoons each week to go to elementary or junior high schools to observe classes.

Second semester "is a reward for making it through first semester," course instructor Carole Henning says.

According to the second semester course syllabus, this class is an internship. Instead of observations two days a week, students now have just one class session a week and the rest of the days are dedicated to being an intern in classrooms around the district.

"I can’t stress this enough: if there is a junior this year who is remotely thinking of teaching, take this class," Henning said. "It’s a definitive way to see what the work of teaching is really like, from the inside out."

Doing well in the Teacher Academy means earning hundreds of dollars of credit and invaluable experience and insight about the teaching profession. It puts students one step ahead of the game when they reach the freshman year in college.

Not only is learning involved but maturity levels are raised. "This course gives students a chance to find out what they really want to do and how to present themselves as a working adult," Henning said.

The course is blocked in seventh and eighth hours so that students can mesh their schedules with the other schools in the district for observation times.

"Teacher Academy has been a great way for me to explore what teachers actually do," senior Madi Chicoine said. "There is so much more to it than I thought."

Chicoine is currently enrolled in Teacher Academy and is still uncertain which grade she would like to teach due to how much she continues to learn about each grade level.

Senior Jessica Short, who is also enrolled in Teacher Academy, feels like she is much more prepared for college and her teaching courses now. "It has really helped me cement it (her decision on becoming a teacher)."

Junior Ryan Pierce is planning on taking Teacher Academy next year. "Hopefully it will help me make the decision of whether I want to be a teacher or not," he said.

Teaching isn’t the only academy experience that students have at their disposal. There is also the Health Sciences Academy, taught and advised by Mary Owens, who has experience with nursing since 1994, is a part of the American Heart Association and took all training courses needed to teach this series of classes.

Owens teaches a variety of health-related courses that include medical terminology, intro to health careers, survey of health careers, emergency care, basic nurse aide and advanced nurse aide.

Students enrolled receive eight credits for first semester and six for second semester. First semester is considered more of a health careers exploration versus second, which is more of a nurse’s aide class.

There are fewer credits offered for second semester than there are for first because for second semester the class uses hospital beds and she is limited to just four. However, with more space and equipment access, the class could certainly fit more students.

The course is open to both juniors and seniors who have interest in a wide variety of health science jobs like nursing or medical technology and even those who may want to try to attend medical or dental schools to become physicians or dentists.

Senior Mikey Buchanan has enrolled in this academy in order to pursue his future career as a paramedic. "It is really helpful for medical terminology," Buchanan said. "I’m most looking forward to getting certified so that I can start working at the hospital as a tech."

Within the nurse aide course there is a requirement of 60 hours of clinical time which usually involves 30 in a nursing home and 30 in a hospital. These hours are typically completed in the evenings and on weekends.

"I don’t want students missing eight days’ worth of school when most of them are taking other difficult classes, such as calculus and other advanced courses," Owens said.

The nurse aide course is also a prerequisite for many nursing programs. Owens couldn’t express enough how well-rounded and beneficial this course can truly be.

"A lot of my recent students make $12 an hour working in a hospital while still going to school versus making the usual minimum wage of 7.50 an hour," Owens said. "In addition, they gain invaluable experience in the medical field."

Health Academy students are expected to have excellent attendance and ambition, along with attention to detail and a desire to help people.