Program Name: Eagle Academy
Nominator's Name: Dr. Phil Heery
Title: Superintendent of Schools
Address: 202 Naples Avenue, PO Box 31
City/State/Zip: West Atlantic City NJ 08232
Nominator's Telephone Number: 609-646-7911
Organization: Eagle Academy
Address: 3517 Bargaintown Road
City/State/Zip: Egg Harbor Township NJ 08234
List of Community Partners: Shop-Rite Corp., Atlantic-Cape Work Investment Board, Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Bally's Corp., Trump Hotel & Casino Properties, Mainland Manor Nursing Home, Patcong Farms, Atlantic County Humane Society, Egg Harbor Twp, Government, Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The nominated program focuses on the following grade level or area: High School
District:  Egg Harbor
County: Atlantic
Address: 202 Naples Avenue, PO Box 31
City/State/Zip: West Atlantic City NJ 08232
District Superintendent: Dr. Phil Heery
District Telephone Number: 609-646-7911
Date of Program Initiation: September 9, 1999

Area 1: Goals:

The Eagle Academy Project is a school/private industry/government collaborative formed to enhance success for alternative school students not able to function in a traditional school setting. Students are referred to the setting because of the following reasons: at risk and/or dropping out of school, in need of a nontraditional educational schedule, poor school attendance, chemical dependence, involvement in the juvenile justice system, and inability to follow traditional methods of instruction. The goals for each school year are the following: increase basic skill achievement in order to meet high school graduation requirements, prevent dropping out of school, provide career and vocational training, help improve attendance and punctuality and supply support services and training to develop more responsible behavior.

The 10-1 ratio of students (50 total)) to teacher increases opportunities for powerful learning experiences and positive relationship building. The program places learning in environments that are positive physically, emotionally and socially while giving students an experience of learning through immersion. The school's ongoing learning projects involve collaborative cross content planning conducted by educators, community business representatives and government officials. The project's major thrust is to provide workplace readiness skills by infusing them into all academic subjects, while transitioning at risk youth into local businesses and community service efforts. The project's ongoing mission is to: "Transition Youth Towards Productive Independence!"

Area 2: Activities:

Students use math to calculate profit margins and earnings in the daily operation of a school café, communication skills are developed through radio script writing and on the air programming, biology facts are presented through the nurturing of plants in the operation of a greenhouse and conducting science experiments on the A.J. Merriwald Historic Sailing vessel while sailing down the Delaware River. Cultural diversity is taught through guest speakers participating in our school's lecture series from various races, religions and cultures. Health class provides exercise choices for a variety of interests.

Information on career education and occupational training opportunities indigenous to our county and corresponding attitudes, skills, and requirements are disseminated to students by local business representatives and government service providers so that they can make an educated decision concerning their future education and/or career choice.

The program challenges students to expand beyond conventional classroom activities by providing opportunities to use information, technology to operate a remote radio site in partnership with WXGN at their school. They also learn to think critically, apply decision making and problem solving skills; demonstrate self-management and apply safety principles through a multitude of school sponsored activities. They include the daily operation of a school-based café called Academy Café, serving breakfast and lunch to community patrons; the management of a monthly coffeehouse incorporating musical performers and food service, participation in intergenerational community service projects such as an annual Senior Citizen Valentine's luncheon/dance and community fall festival.

In addition, the students are given the opportunity for job shadowing in the healthcare and hospitality and tourism industry, equestrian care at the handicap riding center, work in retail food service at a local supermarket (ShopRite), stock shelves at a food bank, provide horticulture care at Patcong Farm Market, get specific occupational training through a partnership with local hotel and casinos (Tropicana, Trump Properties and Bally's Corp.) enroll in college level courses at Atlantic Cape Community College, participate in team building activities through project adventure at Rowan University and participate in a interscholastic basketball program, attend college performing arts productions at Stockton College, and take enrichment trips to places of high interest such as New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington with members of a local Pleasantville VFW Post.

All of these learning activities as well as an intense drug, alcohol and family counseling program help students for the first time in their lives stay clean & sober, motivated to stay in school, gain enough credit to graduate and successfully transition into employment or post secondary education.

In addition, the staff creates learning units derived from the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards and Cross Content Workplace Readiness Standards. The staff periodically critiques each other's lessons for program refinement. They meet daily during the school year to discuss students' progress, calculating students' academic and behavioral points earned during each class. Much of the staff's effort includes ongoing cross content learning projects and community service activities that involve teacher-student collaborative planning, team teaching and/or school/business endeavors.

Area 3: Outside Resources:

The funding for the program is provided through a mixture of local school district funds, Atlantic Cape May Work Investment Board funds for student and teacher employment training stipends and transportation to job sites, New Jersey Department of Education' s I.D.E.A. grant for the remote radio station site, and revenue from the student operated business, Academy Café. In addition, students' needs are served through the following partnerships:

• Implementation of a modified version of the Supermarket Careers Program with a twelve thousand dollar donation of equipment, materials, and stock from the Wakefern Corporation in the transformation of a small antiquated cafeteria into a student operated school-based business.
• A school/business project entitled Parisian Café utilized for a community coffeehouse with five thousand dollars in donations from various area businesses.
• College joint endeavors with Rowan University for team building activities and Stockton College for performing arts activities and Atlantic Cape Community College for providing college level course
• Horticulture program partnership with Patcong Farms, providing a weekly training facility for students and staff
• ShopRite Supermarket providing retail food training facility and employment trainers
• Healthcare Job Shadowing site at Atlantic City Medical Center
• Hospitality/Tourism Job Shadowing at Trump Properties
• Casino related training site and trainers at Bally's Corp.
• Casino Dealer Training Program with Tropicana Hotel and Casino
• New Jersey Division of Vocational Rehabilitation for assisting classified seniors in school-to-careers transition
• Egg Harbor Township Education Foundation sponsorship of innovative educational ideas from instructional staff each year
• Pleasantville VFW sponsorship of student/veterans collaborative trips

Area 4: Evaluation:

Information was recently gathered on student participants of The Eagle Academy Project. The program's school/private industry/government collaboration has proven successful in many ways. The amount of students' illegal drug use and behavior problems has decreased while student graduates, postgraduate employment and standardized scores all have increased.

Area 5: Stability:

The Egg Harbor Township School District has made helping "at risk" youth stay in school until graduation while ensuring successfully transition to employment and/or post secondary employment a priority since 1999. The same school director has been on staff to coordinate the various components of the program since it's inception. The funding for the program is provided through a mixture of local school district funds, Atlantic Cape May Work Investment Board funds, I.D.E.A. and local VFW and private industry donations, in addition to student generated revenue from the student operated business Academy Café. The income has helped fund community service projects, gift certificates and a multitude of enrichment trips for fifty students.

The program has been recognized and included as a model program by the New Jersey Department of Education by inviting it's director to disseminate it at The 2002 Generation Next Conference in Atlantic City, the Atlantic Cape May Work Investment Board Meeting in Cape May Court House in September of 2002 and the New Jersey Department of Vocational Rehabilitation's Regional Conference in Galloway Twp. in February 2003.

Area 6: Endorsements:

"As Mayor of Egg Harbor Township, I am proud of the Eagle Academy Project. The project's innovative and imaginative effort provides wonderful opportunities for the students who work so hard to prosper ".

James J. McCullough, Mayor of Egg Harbor Township

" The Eagle Academy Project has taught the students about the American enterprise system and has provided them with many genuine work and business skills. I am happy to report that my business partnership with the Eagle Academy Project has translated into jobs for the student graduates."

Paula L. Celano, Caesars Atlantic City, EEO/AA Manager

"An innovative program such as the Eagle Academy Project teaches hands on entrepreneurial skills that are easily transferred to career opportunities that would have otherwise been overlooked. I am pleased to be associated with the faculty and students who are driving such a creative program."

Donald Hoover, Director Training and Recruitment, Tropicana Casino and Resort