Henry Ford Academy Receives $1.2 Million From Ford Motor Company To Support Education Initiatives
13 December 1999
Henry Ford Academy Receives $1.2 Million From Ford Motor Company To Support Education Initiatives
DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 13 -- Henry Ford Academy announced
today that Ford Motor Company is contributing $1.2 million for the
operating support and development of new programs at the charter school,
located on the grounds of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village in Dearborn.
This amount is in addition to the $4.8 million that Ford provided as start-up
funding for the Academy when it opened in 1997.
"This gift will allow us to further Henry Ford's vision of 'learning by
doing,'" said Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village president and Henry Ford
Academy chairman Steven K. Hamp. "Ford Motor Company's continued commitment
to the Academy also illustrates their ongoing strong support of providing
educational opportunities for youth," he continued.
Cora Christmas, principal, Henry Ford Academy, remarked that new programs
will be developed to infuse the use of technology, principles of performance
based and project based learning, and other innovative models of teaching.
"We believe students learn best when information is presented in a variety of
ways and when they see the connection between the classroom and the real
world," she remarked. "This gift will allow us to continue our mission of
developing self-initiated learners who not only can identify and solve
problems, but can anticipate problems and with technology, predict solutions
as well."
The Academy has posted some impressive milestones in its young history.
In spring 1999, eighteen out of twenty-one students passed the MEAP test as
10th graders (it isn't required to be taken in the state of Michigan until the
11th grade). The eighteen who passed are now eligible for dual enrollment at
the Academy and at nearby Henry Ford Community College. They will earn
college credit as juniors and the Academy will pay for their classes. In
addition, twelve of the eighteen qualified for State of Michigan college
scholarships of $2,500. In terms of attendance at the school last year, the
average daily attendance rate was 94 percent.
The Academy is the first school in the nation developed jointly by a major
corporation, Ford Motor Company; a nonprofit cultural institution, Henry Ford
Museum & Greenfield Village; and chartered by public education, the Wayne
County Regional Educational Service Agency. Designed to prepare students for
life in the 21st century, the Academy opened its doors in fall of 1997 with
the first class of 100 ninth-grade students. This year there are 300 students
in ninth through eleventh grades, and by September 2000, there will be 400
students in grades 9-12.
Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village has been dedicated to providing
inspiration through education since its inception. Founded by Henry Ford in
1929 as the Edison Institute, the museum and village's original intent was to
serve as a campus where students attended school. In 1937, the schools in the
museum and village had nearly 300 students, from kindergarten through college.
The last operating school at the village closed in 1969, although informal
education still takes place annually for more than 250,000 school-aged
children who visit on school field trips.
Today, Academy teachers and students learn in the same buildings as those
pioneering students who came before them. Modern-day students have the same
access to the artifacts in the museum and can use the 78 historic buildings in
the village as learning laboratories to make their classrooms come to life
everyday. They also have opportunities to interact with Ford engineers,
designers and other employees, and see how their learning can impact real-
world work situations.
Academy students are drawn from all of Wayne County, representing 23
different school districts. According to Christmas, it is the most diverse
school in the county. "Students bring their own culture, interests, and
learning style to the Academy, creating a community where everyone helps weave
a dynamic fabric of social and cultural diversity," she remarked.
The Academy's mission is to effectively provide an education to the
students and to give them the skills they need to succeed in post-secondary
life, be it college, skilled trades, or the workforce. The Academy strives to
achieve a positive balance between its goals and daily mission by focusing on
teaching a broad-based, academically rigorous liberal arts curriculum. By
creating a school that embodies the messages of partnership and innovation,
combined with a dedicated focus on student learning and achievement, the
Academy is prepared to accomplish all of its goals.
The Henry Ford Academy is located on the grounds of Henry Ford Museum &
Greenfield Village at Oakwood Boulevard and Village Road in Dearborn. For
more information, please call 313-982-6200.