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<\/a><\/p>\nThe school division\u2019s newest academy opened at Kempsville High School in September and already has a long list of individuals and organizations to thank for their support.<\/p>\n
EBA Coordinator Meghan Timlin knows they will need even more support\u00a0and made a business pitch of her own at the academy\u2019s partner appreciation event March 30.<\/p>\n \u201cTonight is a celebration of the partnerships that we\u2019ve already established here within the academy but we also want to discuss ways that you can get involved in the future,\u201d Timlin told the audience. \u201cNext year we will double in size, which is really exciting. Each year we will keep growing, which means more and more opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n Timlin offered\u00a0an endless list of partnership opportunities: leading afterschool master classes to share expertise; volunteering time to interview students and judge student work; donating material and instructional resources; sponsoring field trips to hear guest speakers or visit job sites; mentoring a student or student group; providing job shadowing or internship experiences; writing curriculum; joining the academy advisory committee; and donating money to build new learning spaces.<\/p>\n Another option is asking the student entrepreneurs to help problem solve with company case studies.<\/p>\n \u201cOur students are challenged to think differently and to use design thinking, so if there is a problem [at your company], let us help you solve it,\u201d said Timlin. \u201cCome in and tell them what\u2019s going on and give them the chance to brainstorm what their ideas are to solve that problem.\u201d<\/p>\n Thinking differently is what EBA student Annika Ashcraft says she does best.<\/p>\n \u201cWith business, you can do anything with it. You need to think outside the box. That\u2019s something I\u2019m very good at. I think of everything in totally different ways \u2013 in backward manners. But for the classes I\u2019m in, it works really well.\u201d<\/p>\n EBA student Brendan also feels best when he\u2019s thinking outside the box.<\/p>\n \u201cHere, I feel like I can be myself. You\u2019re accepted as yourself and you can branch out and be creative. And that\u2019s what\u2019s expected \u2013 branch out and be creative.\u201d<\/p>\n The academy\u2019s new learning spaces, currently in the design phase, will provide space that should encourage even more creative thinking. Guests had the opportunity to review the new designs on student-led tours of the current academy space. Timlin shared that construction is expected to begin and be completed in summer 2018.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n