Civil and Municipal - Jan 2024

EXPANDING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH SPECIALIZED ACADEMIES Stafford County Schools is continuously expanding its portfolio of opportunities for students focusing on areas that are based on both student interest and positive economic outcomes for the community. These include specialty centers at each of the high schools, highlighting pathways such as construction trades and engineering, health and medical sciences, business and entrepreneurship, media science, culinary, cosmetology, automotive, international relations and leadership, and aviation and logistics. Dr. Taylor emphasizes that the decision to introduce these academies stemmed from a thorough survey of parents and students, noting, “It was interesting, how aligned our parent responses and our student responses were, to what the local economic needs were.The one that surprised us the most was aviation. Virginia, in particular, is a very aviation-friendly 296 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 5, ISSUE 01