Oakland Technical High Engineering Academy

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The engineering room at Oakland Technical High.

The Oakland Technical High Engineering Academy, or just the Engineering Academy as it's known locally, is a subset of Oakland Technical High School dedicated to "successfully teach[ing] students physics mechanics through a unique combination of academic and vocational courses."^[1] It was founded in 1986 by Parker Merrill, an Oakland public school teacher since 1971.^[2] Roughly 120 students grades 10-12 are enrolled in the academy at any given time.

[edit] Classes

Parker Merrill shows off his many education awards from the California State Fair.

Mr. Merrill teaches all of the classes in the academy. Students apply in 9th grade and enter the academy in the tenth grade, taking "Engineering Principles", which teaches Engineering drawing. Those who remain in eleventh grade normally take "Descriptive geometry HP" and "Honors Physics", which teaches Statics and Dynamics. Twelfth graders chose between "Advanced CAD", a course that teaches students 3D modeling, and Architecture. Students also spend time in the large engineering room before and after school starts, and during lunch.^[3]

[edit] Students

A vast majority of the students in the engineering academy go on to four year colleges, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, UC Berkeley, and MIT.^[4] Enrollment in the academy is completely optional, and "everyone who is here wants to be here." The students describe the engineering room as a "safe place" where "kids don't slack off."^[5]

[edit] Demographics

As of 2005, approximately half his students are Asian American, and one fourth are African American, with the rest evenly split between whites and Latinos.^[5] This is in contrast to the approximately 65 percent African-American, 20 percent Asian, 10 percent Hispanic, and 4 percent white makeup of the rest of the school.^[3]

[edit] Funding

Unlike the other academies at Oakland Tech, the Engineering Academy has opted not to be a State Partnership Academy. Instead, significant funding comes from outside sources such as IBM and Bechtel.^[6] More funding comes from parents of current students and Engineering Academy alumni.

[edit] References

1. ^ Engineering Academy information at Oaklandtech.com
2. ^ Article and photo at http://democrats.sen.ca.gov/
3. ^ ^{a b} Could vocational education be progressive? Radical Teacher, Spring, 2004 by Allen Graubard
4. ^ article by Underground Construction Co., Inc
5. ^ ^{a b} A smart update on vocational education, Meredith May, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, June 5, 2005
6. ^ Malarkey, Tom. Real Changes, Persistent Challenges: Managing Multiple Reforms in an Urban High School, http://www.essentialschools.org/