BURBANK : High School Offers Real World Learning

Educators at John Burroughs High School have designed a new program to give students the flexibility of going straight into the working world or on to college.

The Industrial Technology and Engineering Academy will take students with a variety of interests, from printing, graphics and auto repair to computer drafting and engineering, and give them the experience they need.

But the academy, which is scheduled to begin operations in the fall, will also be a college-preparatory program in which students take advanced academic classes. They also will be able to work with professionals in the jobs they are interested in.

For Keith Myatt, who oversees specialized programs at Burroughs, the reason for such a program became clear on a recent field trip, when about 30 students visited an engineering firm in Irvine.

A staffer told them: “Five years ago, I was where you are now. You really have a future doing this,” recalled Myatt, who watched as the students took the words in. “It really was a magical moment.”

The Tech Academy, as it will be commonly called, will join two other academies already established at John Burroughs, a Cinema and Video Academy, run with the help of Warner Bros., and a Business Academy. Educators are also planning two other academies, one for health sciences, run with the help of Thompson Memorial Hospital, and a Travel and Tourism Academy.

“We think that a 14th-grade education is pretty much going to be a minimum,” Myatt said.