Mt. Vernon is starting something new. As the town of Fortville expands, integrating with Fishers, Mt. Vernon is challenged to meet the need with a few expansions of its own. What started out as an idea to better the school system, developed into an idea to create Mt. Vernon Academy.

Nyjia Thompson
Principal Roach explains it this way, “In the future I envision as possibilities the following academies: Freshman Academy, PLTW (Project Lead the Way), Early College, STEM, and Vocational Arts.”

He stressed that these are subject to change and move around, but, it’s the start up of an idea to really bolster the education system in the region of Fortville/Fishers. Below is a Q&A with Mr. Roach about the possible move to academies.

 

Q: What inspired this change?

A. I want us to be organized in a way that paths of study are clear to students and parents. Students can choose to focus on particular interests and see what courses they can take in the chosen area(s).

Q: How would the academy approach benefit our foreign exchange students?

A. I think being better organized will help all of our students, including our exchange students.

Q. Will there be a foreign language academy?

A. Yes, there will be a World Language Academy.

Q. How will the current teachers at MV transition to the academy approach?

A. There will not be much of a transition for them other than the freshman academy. In that academy we plan to group teachers from chosen subjects together with a subset of the freshman class. The intent is to give our freshman more of a connection to teachers as they begin their high school careers.

 

The academy approach is intended to help organize the school and help individualize each student’s experience at Mt. Vernon. It is an exciting step towards the future and one that will help the community for years to come.