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Henrico Workforce & Career Development

High Tech Academy (ACE) Honors

High Tech Academy (for course numbers, see table below)

Offered at the Advanced Career Education Center at Highland Springs

ACE Center at Highland Springs instructor: Allison  Buschy

Program Overview

High Tech Academy (HTA) is a dual-enrollment STEM program that gives students the opportunity to take college-level engineering, math, and physics classes in a challenging environment with other motivated students. HTA students can earn up to 26 college credits during their junior and senior years of high school! Students participate in hands-on honors engineering classes and work together to solve problems, all while earning college credit in mathematics, physics, and engineering. If you are a motivated HCPS student interested in getting a head start for college, this program is for you!

Courses Offered:

  • Precalculus with Trigonometry* [Reynolds MTH 167]

  • Calculus I* [Reynolds MTH 263]

  • Calculus II* [Reynolds MTH 264]

  • Differential Equations* [Reynolds MTH 267]

  • General Physics I* [VCU PHYS 201]

  • General Physics II* [VCU PHYS 202]

  • Introduction to Engineering* [VCU ENGR 101]

  • Engineering Statics* [VCU EGMN 102]

  • Hon Engineering Explorations I [HCPS 8450]

  • Hon Engineering Analysis & Applications II  [HCPS 8451]

POSSIBLE CERTIFICATIONS:

  • NOCTI Pre-Engineering Certification

  • Workplace Readiness

Program Overview

The Engineering Program is a dynamic, two-year opportunity for juniors and seniors from all county high schools. Students can:

Earn up to 28 college credits through partnerships with VCU and Reynolds Community College.

Build professional networks by connecting with potential employers for internship opportunities.

Explore career paths through hands-on field trips to engineering sites.

Located at the ACE Center at Highland Springs, the program is independent of the Highland Springs High School engineering program and operates on an alternating-day schedule. Students continue to attend their home high schools, allowing them to maintain participation in sports, marching band, clubs, and other activities.

Annual Program Fee: $10–$20, depending on the number of engineering courses taken.

To Join The HTA

  • Interested HCPS students can apply online during the fall of their sophomore year.

  • To be eligible for the program, students must meet the following criteria:

    • Currently enrolled in Algebra II or Precalculus.

      • Maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0.

      • Finish Algebra II or Precalculus with at least a C.

  • Students may still apply after the fall application deadline if spots are available and will be considered for acceptance through mid-spring.

 

Published: Dec. 6, 2022. Click here to listen. Dave and Ali Ogburn talk with us about their career path to becoming engineers at Goodyear Tires. Both of them, while in college, got a lot of experience in a motorsports program at UVA while they studied to become engineers. They both worked for racing teams early on and while Dave is a Performance Test Driver at Goodyear, Ali is a senior engineer at Goodyear. They have a remarkable story about the years of experiences that led them to both be working at Goodyear Tires at their facility in Texas. Don’t miss this episode.

 

Published: Dec. 14, 2021. Click here to listen. In our latest podcast, we meet Devon Gallagher, a nuclear engineer with Dominion Power! She talks with us about her attending Douglas Freeman High School and her days as a CTE student in our former electronics class years ago as well as what she feels about the importance of a CTE education for students today