Bloomington school earns civic engagement award

The Academy of Science and Entrepreneurship in Bloomington was awarded an Ivy Tech Civic Engagement Award.

Principal Bruce Colston said the Academy has worked extensively with Ivy Tech Community College in Bloomington throughout the years and the award is given to one of Ivy Tech’s outstanding community partners.

Colston said Ivy Tech and the Academy work to create programming opportunities for the Academy students, and the Academy will receive $500.

“They’re acknowledging the degree to which the Academy works to provide opportunities for young leaders in the community,” Colston said.

Joann Novak, a business and marketing teacher at the Academy, said Ivy Tech has helped create dual credit opportunities for the Academy students, so students can take college classes while still in high school.

Some examples of the classes offered include Introduction to Business and Principles of Marketing.

The Academy is currently in its sixth year of operation, and Colston said students have taken classes through Ivy Tech since the opening of the school. Colston said students can currently take up to 30 credits of tuition-free courses through Ivy Tech.

The Academy, which is a part of the Monroe County Community School Corporation, was originally named Bloomington New Tech High School, but was renamed at the beginning of this school year.  

The school is a part of the New Tech Network, a national network of schools that all operate under the same guiding principles, such as project-based learning and the smart use of technology.

Colston said the Academy is different than other schools because it offers the dual credit programs, as well as four career pathways — biotechnology, information technology, entrepreneurship and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Colston said the Academy serves students who want to be at a smaller high school and enjoy project-based learning and learning that is tied to the real world.

Novak said the goals of Ivy Tech and the Academy line up nicely and said both are very student-focused and student-driven.

She said the people that support the Academy through Ivy Tech do so with dedication to students and said she hopes this partnership strengthens in coming years.

“I really appreciate the fact that this partnership is being recognized through this award,” Novak said.

Ivy Tech honors community members with civic engagement awards through the Ivy Tech O’Bannon Institute for Community Service.

The categories include the Community Partner Award, the Ivy Tech John Waldron Arts Center Community Partner Award, the Gayle and Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship Community Partner Award, Excellence in Service Learning, Excellence in Volunteerism and the Jeanine C. Rae Humanitarian Award.

The Academy will be honored April 23 at Ivy Tech’s annual Excellence in Civic Engagement awards ceremony.