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What is an Academy (Program of Study)? Academies or Programs of study are small, personalized learning communities within a high school that select a subset of students and teachers for a two-, three-, or four-year span. Students enter the program of study through a voluntary process; they must apply and be accepted with parental knowledge and support.  Programs include career academies, acceleration academies, and ROTC programs. An academy or program of study involves teachers from different subjects working together as a team. Staff teams, who often share common planning time, work together to implement the key features of the model and provide students with exposure to the career field. Students are grouped together for several periods every day with a core group of teachers. This promotes a family-like atmosphere and results in close student-teacher ties. One type is a career academy.  Career academies includes the following essential elements: A small learning community A college-prep curriculum with a career theme Partnerships with employers, the community, and higher education Examples of common themes are:          - Construction          - Health care          - Business and Finance          - Marketing          - Performing Arts          - Engineering By design, these three central elements of a career academy lead to a school that is rigorous, relevant, and relational. As such, career academies are an excellent example of a reform model for Florida's policymakers and practitioners to consider in high school reform. Characteristics of an academy or program of study are: * Academic courses that meet high school graduation and college entrance requirements are linked with career or art courses that focus on the academy's field of work. * Employability skills are taught in the career courses and in one or more academic courses. * Work-based learning opportunities for students tie classroom activities to internships with local employer partners. * College and career counseling inform students about options and planning for employment and further education, which may or may not be related to the academy career theme. * A group of teachers from academic and career or arts disciplines are scheduled to have only or mostly academy students in their classes, meet with each other on a regular basis, and share in decision-making related to administrative policies, curriculum content, and instruction. One of these faculty members assumes lead responsibility for administrative tasks and usually serves as a liaison to the school principal and other building administrators, school district officials, and employer partners. * An academy or program of study may support partnerships with employers. An advisory group for the academy includes representatives from the local employer community, academy faculty, and the school district. Employer representatives give advice on curriculum, appear as guest speakers in classes, supervise student internships, provide financial or in-kind support, and serve as mentors for individual students. Post-secondary Partners: All academies and programs of study are articulated to a post-secondary program at a local community college, university, or technical school. For more information on these institutions, please visit the post-secondary link.