"The trick is not to give them something, but to help them find themselves. If I gave them anything it was faith in their own potential."
- Charles W. Bowser
- Charles W. Bowser
YOUR THOUGHTS ON CHARLES W. BOWSER
& HIS CAREER ACADEMIES
All responses are posted in the order they arrived. Email yours to msanchez@msn.com.
The Academy movement owes a real debt of gratitude to Mr. Bowser for serving as a key catalyst at the inception of the Academy model in Philadelphia in 1969.
My primary role in the Academy movement over 17 years at MDRC was been to help provide rigorous evidence about their effectiveness and, when necessary, their lack of effectiveness. My colleagues and I at MDRC reflect on our work with Career Academies as among the most gratifying of our careers.
The community of Academy leaders, practitioners and supporters have been incredibly receptive and responsive to this research both in their willingness to participate and in their use of the findings to improve the quality of their programs. This commitment to critical self-examination, results-oriented reform, and continuous improvement have been central to the expansion and sustenance of the Academy movement for over 40 years. They also epitomize Mr. Bowser's dedication to meeting the needs of young people.
Dr. James Kemple
NYU
New York
My primary role in the Academy movement over 17 years at MDRC was been to help provide rigorous evidence about their effectiveness and, when necessary, their lack of effectiveness. My colleagues and I at MDRC reflect on our work with Career Academies as among the most gratifying of our careers.
The community of Academy leaders, practitioners and supporters have been incredibly receptive and responsive to this research both in their willingness to participate and in their use of the findings to improve the quality of their programs. This commitment to critical self-examination, results-oriented reform, and continuous improvement have been central to the expansion and sustenance of the Academy movement for over 40 years. They also epitomize Mr. Bowser's dedication to meeting the needs of young people.
Dr. James Kemple
NYU
New York
The academy model conceived in Philadelphia in 1969 has stood the test of time. Uniting teams of teachers with employer partners, connecting academic and career-technical courses, and grouping students into small learning communities was an inspired idea. This combination has been validated by careful research, and has been replicated all over the country. This is one of those rare innovations that has changed the direction of American high schools.
David Stern
University of California-Berkeley
California
David Stern
University of California-Berkeley
California
My recent career and my future are based on the work of Career Academies. It is due to beginning a career academy at Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, FL that I became the supervisor of the Small Learning Communities Grant for Duval County. I was acting as the Assistant Principal over a small learning community with an IT academy embedded in the curriculum. My principal saw my potential to lead others toward personalization of learning environments and recommended me for the position. My passion is for teacher teaming and the collective responsibility of shared students. Career Academies are a natural vehicle for teachers to share students, share best practice and share their passion for success of those students.
Janie Roth
SLC Grant Coordinator
Florida
Janie Roth
SLC Grant Coordinator
Florida
High school academies were not just another "program". They were a fundamental shift in the way secondary education is delivered.
I've seen teachers, discouraged from the "initiative du jour" that often plagues our system, get introduced to academies and fall in love with their profession again. I have seen levels of student engagement you just don't get in traditional school settings. And for me personally, academies have changed the work I do, and placed me in the company of profound professionals who continuously enrich me.
Mr. Bowser was a rock thrown into an all too still pond. I'm glad to be just one of his many ripples.
Mark A. Thompson
NEP
Colorado
I've seen teachers, discouraged from the "initiative du jour" that often plagues our system, get introduced to academies and fall in love with their profession again. I have seen levels of student engagement you just don't get in traditional school settings. And for me personally, academies have changed the work I do, and placed me in the company of profound professionals who continuously enrich me.
Mr. Bowser was a rock thrown into an all too still pond. I'm glad to be just one of his many ripples.
Mark A. Thompson
NEP
Colorado
Career academies at Tavares High School have infused a stronger, more enriched direction for our campus. As a result, our students continue to make gains in nearly every subgroup of our population. Our community and parents are more actively involved in academic and extracurricular programs, and our faculty as a whole feels more connected to the students and the overall process, naturally improving the climate of the school.
Charles Bowser was truly a progressive intellectual who has passed on his contagious passion for equity and lifelong learning to schools across the country.
Jackie Davenport
Teacher
Florida
Charles Bowser was truly a progressive intellectual who has passed on his contagious passion for equity and lifelong learning to schools across the country.
Jackie Davenport
Teacher
Florida
To the Philadelphia Academies and career academies around the country, Mr. Bowser is recognized as the Founder of the career academy model. Although he never taught a class and never officially held the title of “educator”, Mr. Bowser’s “little idea” revolutionized the way students learn and teachers teach in thousands of high schools across the country.
Connie Majka
Philadelphia Academies, Inc
Pennsylvania
Connie Majka
Philadelphia Academies, Inc
Pennsylvania
Photo by Caroline Chen
As a researcher, I have learned how important the academy is in making a difference in the lives of students. One student told me, "I think the reason a lot of us like the academy class is because all of us have grown to each other. These are my awesome friends. It's like a big family."
Bridget Cotner
University of South Florida
Florida
Bridget Cotner
University of South Florida
Florida
Campaigning for Mayor - 1975
Courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer
In late August 1984, I went to the SDP to select a new school because my previous position had been eliminated. The vacancy was listed for a “business academy”. On the recommendation of Vincent Russo, I accepted the position at William Penn High School, where there was an academy. He assured me that I would have job security, since the business academies were gaining popularity among parents/guardians and students.
When the new school year started, I thought about my old school, and the relationships I had with administration, staff, and students. Would this new school give me the same job satisfaction as my previous school? Well, a couple of weeks into the school year, I realized this academy model was simply outstanding. The teaching team, academy supports, student engagement were just so impressive. When offered a chance to go back to my old school, I declined.
I met Charles Bowser as a result of a long teachers strike in 1981. We had a friendly debate over the strike. I was very impressed with his knowledge and zeal for education reform, not knowing he was the founder of this new model, “the academy”.
As years passed when the opportunity presented itself, we would talk education. He was happy I was now an academy teacher. He was a great man who will be remembered not only for what he did as an attorney, but also his impact on public education and his desire to enrich the lives of families living in Philadelphia.
Harvey Goss
Philadelphia Academies, Inc
Pennsylvania
When the new school year started, I thought about my old school, and the relationships I had with administration, staff, and students. Would this new school give me the same job satisfaction as my previous school? Well, a couple of weeks into the school year, I realized this academy model was simply outstanding. The teaching team, academy supports, student engagement were just so impressive. When offered a chance to go back to my old school, I declined.
I met Charles Bowser as a result of a long teachers strike in 1981. We had a friendly debate over the strike. I was very impressed with his knowledge and zeal for education reform, not knowing he was the founder of this new model, “the academy”.
As years passed when the opportunity presented itself, we would talk education. He was happy I was now an academy teacher. He was a great man who will be remembered not only for what he did as an attorney, but also his impact on public education and his desire to enrich the lives of families living in Philadelphia.
Harvey Goss
Philadelphia Academies, Inc
Pennsylvania
When I interned, I didn't know what a career academy was. The teacher I was assigned to was the lead teacher for the Health & Science Academy, so I got involved immediately. They had so much camaraderie and enjoyed the creative process so much, and so did I.
Later, when I was interviewing in the district for a teaching position in math, I was offered three schools, but only one school had career academies. That's the position I took and have held for the last eight years. Now I'm the lead teacher of my own academy.
Emily Thornton
Teacher
Ohio
Later, when I was interviewing in the district for a teaching position in math, I was offered three schools, but only one school had career academies. That's the position I took and have held for the last eight years. Now I'm the lead teacher of my own academy.
Emily Thornton
Teacher
Ohio
There are many kids I remember over the years I was a teacher. I remember one in particular I'll call "Florence." She was a real problem in everyone's class, never did any work, and always seemed to be in a bad mood. Because of a scheduling problem, she had been "dumped" in our academy.
Over the course of the school year, I noticed she became gradually involved in a project we did where the kids build their own website. She got to the point where she wouldn't miss school just because it was her only chance to work on her website. She eventually took a leadership role in class and when she chose her classes for the next year, she was in our academy again. This time by choice.
Lawrence Broomfield
Curriculum Supervisor
Wisconsin
Over the course of the school year, I noticed she became gradually involved in a project we did where the kids build their own website. She got to the point where she wouldn't miss school just because it was her only chance to work on her website. She eventually took a leadership role in class and when she chose her classes for the next year, she was in our academy again. This time by choice.
Lawrence Broomfield
Curriculum Supervisor
Wisconsin
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Career academy students at the
Cultural Academy for the Arts & Sciences (NEP Lab School)
Brooklyn, New York
Charles W. Bowser, 2001
Photo by G.W. Miller III