Mead High School is an extremely motivated school whose motivation can be seen not only through the enthusiastic athletes, and talented artists, but through the determined and willing students that are always prepared to learn. Although the school has only been open since 2009, it has seen considerable growth in it’s student numbers, as it is a sought after school. With the new wing and Energy Academy, the students at Mead High will not only be comfortable, but they will have classrooms and programs tailored to meet the academic rigor and ever-evolving curriculums needed for academic success in today’s world. Though it has been a tough school year in terms of dealing with the construction and crowded hallways, the benefits that these additions will offer to those of Mead High School are well worth the wait.

Mead High School’s Energy Academy is run by dedicated science teacher, Mr. Pratt. The program is one of the first energy-focused high schools in the country. Not only does the program offer students a focused curriculum along with real-world partnerships with local oil, power, and wind/solar companies, but it awards participants with a sustainability certification that prepares them to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.

Jacob Hausman, a 9th grader in the Energy Academy says that he decided to join the program because “[he] wants to be an electrical engineer.” For those that are unsure about joining the program, Hausman advises “[they] should join because Mead High School is the only school in Colorado that offers an Energy Academy and it looks good to colleges.”

In addition to offering students an advantage when applying to colleges, the Energy Academy will help students learn more about our society, and prepare them to make connections with industry and connections with academia, as well as connections in their future careers. “The beauty of the program is that they don’t have to have energy focused careers,” according to Pratt; for example students interested in law can go through the energy academy and explore a law career in that context and have an advantage.

Ms. Krack, a science teacher at Mead High School, hopes that academic success will be improved with the addition of the new wing, because “we’ve needed the added space for a long time, and when we have more space it’s gonna make it much easier to do more activities. We’re hoping more one on one student-teacher interaction… and take what everybody’s learning to the next level.” Furthermore, “instead of trying to do construction in a regular classroom they will have more sophisticated and dedicated equipment. It’ll be more like the real world environment that they’re gonna end up in,” according to Mr. Pratt.  

The new wing and Energy Academy will be fully up and running by next school year!