The Science Academy of South Texas
The Science Academy of South Texas, also known as 'SciTech', is a high school in Mercedes, Texas, United States, as part of the South Texas Independent School District.
The school serves as an alternative to larger high schools of local independent school districts for students interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, and engineering. The school's unique curriculum has given it national recognition.[2] Being a public magnet school, open enrollment has been the school's policy since its creation, although application is required. The Science Academy of South Texas is part of the South Texas Independent School District.
The Science Academy of South Texas has notable partnerships with Rice University, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Texas-Pan American and South Texas College.[3] Its sister school South Texas High School for Health Professions, also known as Med High, presides on the same campus. Both schools are served by Biblioteca Las Americas, the school library, which is located at equal distance from both schools.
The Science Academy has no athletics department but students participate in academic competitions regularly. In 2008, The Science Academy gym was completed, no longer sharing with the neighboring Med High.
A recent study has labeled The Science Academy as a "dropout factory," citing a 55% retention rate.[4] However, this study did not take into the account that the Academy does not have any students zoned into it; all students come from other area high schools and many of those students simply returned to their regular high school.
As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 640 students and 44.6 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 14.3.[1]
In 2007, principal Edward Argueta left and was replaced by Michael Aranda, who was an assistant principal at Med High at the time. The current assistant principals include Nora Casarez and Julian Garcia III.
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History
The school was founded in 1989 as the Math and Science Academy. Jorge Lopez, (actor) the Principal of neighboring Med-High served as principal. After a year the name was changed to The Science Academy of South Texas. The school colors were changed from black and gold to green and gray. Only one student received a letterman jacket with the black and gold colors. In 1992 the building was completed and classes moved out of the portables.
A detailed history of the Science Academy can be found in Dr. Anna Rudolph Canter's dissertation entitled "In the Middle of an Orange Grove, Across the Street From the Tortilla Factory: The Science Academy of South Texas http://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstream/handle/2152/2143/canterar35023.pdf?sequence=2 "When I began my doctoral studies at UT Austin, I studied, among other topics, minority students’ failures and successes in schools. I always remembered the students at the Science Academy of South Texas. For one course, I conducted a pilot study of the experiences of teachers at the Science Academy. As I spent time in the Valley collecting those data, I became more interested in the story behind the school. As a result, I chose to write the history of the Science Academy for my dissertation research. My goal—to write a rich, detailed, multi-voiced account of the history of the Science Academy—is represented by this dissertation." Anna Rudolph Canter
Awards and recognition
During the 2005-06 school year, the Science Academy of South Texas was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education[5][6], the highest award an American school can receive.[7][8]
In 2003, it was placed 8th on Newsweek magazine's listing of "America's Best High Schools".[5][9]
In its November 30, 2007, U.S. News & World Report ranked Science Academy #23 on its list of America's Best High Schools. Sci Tech's sister schools South Texas Business Education & Technology Academy (BETA) came in at 54th place, and South Texas High School for Health Professions (Med High) was ranked 64th.[10]
Extracurricular activities
SciTech has numerous extracurricular organizations:
Astronomy Club
Cinema Technology Club(CinTech)
Mu Alpha Theta
University Interscholastic League
Junior Engineering Technological Society
Music Club
Robotics Club
Asian Cultural Club
Student Math Tutors
Yearbook Club
Though the school is known to have no athletic teams, Scitech recently finished the construction of the pool located on the roof of the building. The official Scitech swim team is soon to be announced.
Independent Studies for academics and unacademic purposes
See also
References
- ^ a b c d The Science Academy, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed November 7, 2007.
- ^ The Education Innovator #43, United States Department of Education, December 2, 2005. Accessed November 7, 2007.
- ^ The Science Academy of South Texas, South Texas Independent School District. Accessed November 7, 2007.
- ^ "Dropout Factories", Associated Press. Accessed November 7, 2007.
- ^ a b Ashby, Nicole. "Rigorous curriculum puts South Texas students on track for high-tech careers", The Achiever, March-April 2006. Accessed November 7, 2007. "In addition to being ranked eighth by Newsweek in 2003 among the 100 top public high schools in the country, the school last year was named a No Child Left Behind--Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education."
- ^ U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2006 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
- ^ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
- ^ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
- ^ "Science Academy of South Texas ranked 8th in nation", Baylor College of Medicine press release, dated June 6, 2003. Accessed November 7, 2007.
- ^ Gold Medal Schools, U.S. News & World Report, November 29, 2007. Accessed December 11, 2007.
External links
Categories: Blue Ribbon schools in Texas | High schools in Hidalgo County, Texas
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