New Academy of Business Facility at CHS Dedicated

On Thursday San Diego Unified School District dedicated a new Academy of Business facility and launched three new career-focused academies at Clairemont High School.

The new $6 million facility recently built for the Academy of Business was funded by San Diego Unified School District's Proposition Z and matching funds from a California Proposition 1D Career Technical Education grant.

The project included a new 10,500-square-foot building with a central space that serves as a mock investment house and trading floor. This space contains a presentation board and terminals on which students can access up-to-date financial data. The new building also has a computer classroom, three general purpose classrooms, one media technology classroom, a television broadcast studio with a soundproof media lab with control room, three multi-media editing bays, one soundproof studio editing bay, and a staff planning room.

The Academy of Business at Clairemont High School is a College, Career & Technical Education program and facility that supports an award-winning Linked Learning community that focuses on the business and finance industry pathway. Founded in 2004, the academy offers an unique three-year program that provides a college-preparatory curriculum that incorporates business elective courses at each grade level. The finance-centered program offers students the opportunity to learn about stocks and bonds, and how they are traded.

Based on the Academy of Business' high level of success, the Moxie Foundation approached San Diego Unified School District and Clairemont High School last year with the concept of establishing three additional academies within the comprehensive school setting.

Moxie Foundation founder Irwin Zahn's vision for Clairemont is to create a total school transformation by offering all students the opportunity to participate in hands-on learning through Linked Learning academy pathways. The focus of the three new academies were selected based on projected growth industries and anticipated career opportunities in San Diego. The new academies include: the Academy of Information Technology, the Academy of Engineering Design, and the Academy of Health & Medical Sciences.

With input from and collaboration with Clairemont students, parents, staff, industry and education partners and the greater Clairemont community, the new academies officially opened this year to ninth- and tenth-grade students, and will include all grade levels next year.

The Moxie Foundation is dedicated to enriching and empowering individuals and communities by advancing educational achievement and entrepreneurial success, personal health, and the environment.