Organization Name: National Academy Foundation

Address: 39 Broadway, Suite 1640, New York, NY 10006

Telephone: (212) 635-2400

Fax: (212) 635-2409

Web Site: www.naf.org

Contact: Gregg Betheil, VP - Academy Programs
Phone: (212) 635-2400 ext 247
E-mail: gregg@naf.org

Contact: Robin Willig, Senior VP; External Relations
Phone: (212) 635-2400 ext 225
E-mail: rwillig@naf.org

Size (# staff, # sites): 21 Full time, 5 Regional Consultants, 575 Academies in 40 states, including 45 sites in planning.

Mission/goal:

The National Academy Foundation (NAF) mission is to sustain a national network of career academies to support the development of America's youth toward personal and professional success--in high school, in higher education, and throughout their careers. 

Overview of services of interest to career academies:

NAF is a nonprofit 501(c)3 intermediary organization that sustains a national network of high school career academies–small learning communities–in finance, travel & tourism, and information technology. NAF Academies represent business/school partnerships that prepare young people for future careers through a combination of school-based curricula and work-based experiences. The industry component features paid internships, which provide students with a real-world context for their classroom learning. NAF provides a full range of technical assistance and program support to all partners in the career academy effort from startup planning through program growth.

Each NAF Academy operates as a "school within a school" in high schools across the country. Students apply to participate in a cadre of 30 to 60 Academy students per school per year. These students share two to three common Academy classes each semester. The Academy can be a two-, three-, or four-year program to supplement and enrich the traditional curriculum. NAF Academies are targeted to schools in the nation's urban centers, but are appropriate for–and thrive in–urban, suburban, and rural areas where businesses exist alongside the schools.

The NAF Academy model features all of the essential components of career academies as defined by CASN, with several additional distinguishing features. The NAF model is specifically defined as having three critical components:

A career-themed small learning community comprises the resources, leadership, and supports needed to sustain the Academy and features NAF's curriculum–designed, reviewed, and updated regularly by a team of educators and industry experts.

• NAF provides a series of courses in each of its three academy themes. These courses are linked to academic and industry standards and encourage high achievement. All courses are available on-line to NAF member programs. The career and academic courses meet entrance requirements for four-year colleges and universities; through national and local articulation agreements, graduates are often able to earn advanced standing for their academy course work.
• NAF Academy students are provided with college and career counseling, forming a postgraduate plan, which may include college, a mixture of work and college, or full-time work.
• 80% of Academy graduates go on to higher education, and a substantial number of these graduates find future employment in their Academy career field.

Community partnership includes the collaboration between the school and the larger community, toward the development of local advisory boards and paid student internships.

• An integral part of an Academy student's experience is the six- to eight-week paid internship–a critical factor in connecting the "real world" to classroom study. Internships typically take place during the summer between a student's junior and senior year, and are provided by companies affiliated with the program through its local advisory board, or through other community contacts. This summer internship is generally the capstone of the Academy experience, during which time students apply what they have learned in their academy classes and are able to see their learning in a broader context.
• NAF Academies develop relationships with local higher education institutions toward the development of college opportunities for students. During their senior year, students take a college course and have access to college credits through NAF's national articulation agreements.
• NAF's national relationships with major industry representatives, federal government agencies, national nonprofit organizations, higher education institutions, and trade associations help schools develop and sustain local partnerships–over 2,000 private businesses, local government entities, and educational organizations are involved with NAF Academies nationwide.

• NAF hosts three annual conferences: the Institute for Staff Development, held during the summer, the Leadership Summit, held during the fall, and the New Academy Orientation, held each spring. These conferences provide opportunities for all of NAF's constituents–teachers, guidance counselors, high school principals, business and government partners, students, and alumni–to come together in order to share their unique perspectives and best practices while planning for the future. NAF conferences serve as a focal point for ongoing professional development conducted within local communities.

These three components–learning community, partnership, and professional development–form NAF's "Academy Frameworks," a system of quality assurance designed to help set expectations for new and developing Academies, to provide benchmarks for all Academies to assess program progress, and to encourage innovation among all Academies over time.

NAF also provides targeted technical assistance to support Academies in their efforts to develop effective, sustainable Academy programs. Resource and planning guides, online resources, and technical assistance site visits are among the array of services NAF offers to sustain member programs of the NAF Network.

NAF Academies are appropriate for all high school students performing at grade level, but they are particularly targeted toward students who are not achieving their potential. These are students for whom the program makes a significant difference. With a new context for learning, NAF students often become more engaged in their studies, resulting in improved performance and higher expectations of what they can achieve for themselves.

Regularly sponsored conferences/ institutes/ workshops (for whom, what, where, when, cost):

The Institute for Staff Development, held each July, and the Academy Leadership Summit, held each November, are the key focal points of the National Academy Foundation's ongoing Staff Development program. Both events provide opportunities for all of NAF's constituents -- teachers, guidance counselors, high school principals, business and government partners, students and alumni -- to come together in order to share their unique perspectives and best practices while planning for the future.

Registration for the Institute for Staff Development is open to any interested party, though NAF member programs are entitled to sponsorship of their travel and lodging costs for 2 teachers each year. The current conference registration fee is $425. The conferences rotate locations each year.

In addition to the two national conferences, NAF also hosts several regional events throughout the year that focus on a variety of issues concerning curriculum development, partnership development, new program orientation, and others.

Available on-site services (for whom, what, where, cost):

Each program in the NAF network receives online access to NAF's industry validated curriculum and other resources, is visited each year by the NAF program team and has access to a wide variety technical support resources. NAF's Year of Planning initiative offers comprehensive needs assessment and planning support to emerging academies in the 18 months prior to their launch. NAF provides direct support to teachers, guidance counselors, building and district administration and business partners as part of membership in the NAF Network. There is a one-time, $5,000 membership fee payable upon acceptance of a proposal for either academy implementation or planning. In addition, NAF provides curriculum and promotional materials to member programs at no cost each year.

Documents/ materials:

NAF Academy Planning Guide — For any party interested in starting a NAF academy. Describes the rationale behind academies, NAF's Year of Planning and Implementation programs and proposal processes. Free of charge, available at NAF.org.

NAF Year of Planning Assessment and Planning Guide — Developed with the Education Development Center, the TAP Guide is a needs assessment and planning tool for new NAF academies to structure their Year of Planning Activities. Available only to NAF YOP sites as part of their network membership fee (one time $5,000 fee).

NAF Academy Frameworks- Released in Fall 2002, the frameworks represent standards for quality academy implementation, as well as assessment tools for helping academies continuously improve. Included are frameworks for "Learning Communities", "Partnerships", and "Professional Development", all within the career academy context. They are available publicly through NAF's website for download; printed versions will be distributed to NAF Member Programs.

Curriculum- NAF makes available industry validated curriculum in the areas of Finance, Travel & Tourism and Information Technology. Delivered and developed using our online systems, the curriculum is included in the one time membership fee and is available as long as programs are in good standing. NAF curriculum is not available to non-member schools.

Promotional Materials: Includes collateral print materials for education and business communities, PowerPoint templates and presentations; videos, a marketing toolkit including logos and style guides, as well as promotional items (t-shirts, hats, banners). Print materials are distributed to interested parties and a supply is provided to each member program annually. The marketing toolkit is available publicly at NAF.org and promotional items can be ordered from Olympia Promotions via the NAF website.

For more information:

• Visit www.naf.org for general information.
• To start an Academy, contact Florence Drummond (212) 635-2400 ext 243, Florence@naf.org
• For public relations, partner opportunities or to contribute: Robin Willig (see contact above)