In March of 2020, the world was shaken up by the devastating Covid-19 Pandemic, and it changed life as we knew it.  Specifically, all forms of schooling and education were forced to transition into virtual platforms such as Zoom, Google Meets, and Microsoft Teams.  Now that Piscataway High School has returned to full in-person class starting in Fall of 2021, it is time new curriculums are added.  To help ease the move from virtual or hybrid learning to being back in the building for all students, as well as creating more beneficial opportunities prior to college, the high school needs to implement more academies for other career outlets.
My freshman year marked the launch for academies at PHS.  These programs allowed students to take classes aimed towards their career and further studies in college by guaranteeing them spots on the roster for each of the said courses.  PHS opened up this system with four academies; Visual/Performing Arts, Biomedical, Pre-Law, and Engineering.  This year, a new Business Academy was added to the offerings.
I remember sitting in the auditorium of my middle school when faculty members belonging to PHS came for a visit.  They described what the academies were going to be like, and how my class would be the first to have it in all four years of education.  When they were announced, the room erupted in whispers and cheers from my peers, as so many new opportunities were being introduced to us before we even stepped foot in the building.  Personally, however, none of the academies piqued my interest.
I am currently a senior at the high school, getting ready for the college experience first-hand.  I was lucky, in the sense where I have known what career path I want to follow, since before high school: journalism.  I wrote my own “articles” on Word documents just for my own safekeeping.  Then, I joined The Chieftain, our school’s newspaper, and wrote my first published article on a current event in baseball.  With just one year left of high school, a journalism academy will not be of much help for me.  But that does not mean I don’t constantly think about what could have been.
To my dismay, an absence of a writing academy in particular prohibits me as a student.  There is only so much I can do, or could have done, to make an impact on college transcripts, or even job opportunities later in life.  I have taken honors or advanced English dating back to my middle school days, am involved in the offered journalism course, and write for the paper.  But that is all.  The four pre-existing academies shine light on the small sample size of students who want to pursue those occupations, giving them intense support for their four years of high school.  Not to mention, taking the opportunity to enroll in an academy will surely look good on a college application.
So many of my peers would have been able to take advantage of a Journalism or Creative Writing academy, just like those currently enrolled in a performing arts, pre-law, biomedical, or engineering one right now.  According to Career Explorer, there are an estimated 44,700 people hired as journalists in the United States.  However, during the 2016-2026 decade, the field is expected to shrink by 10.1%, making these jobs more competitive and difficult to come by.  Students who have the opportunity to explore Journalism early will be armed with more experience, increasing their likelihood of holding a position in that career down the line.  To promote such success, PHS should add a writing academy to give their students a head start before college even begins.
While a Journalism academy would have been extremely beneficial to myself as a student at the high school, that is not the only new academy I would recommend adding.  Another clear choice would be Digital Media.  According to tubefilter, the most desired job right now by kids up until 17 year old teens is becoming a YouTuber.  Behind that, from 2 to 10 in the list; blogger/vlogger, musician/singer, actor, filmmaker, doctor/nurse, TV presenter, athlete, teacher, writer, and lawyer.  The kids walking through the doors of PHS in the years to come are future generations, with jobs that trend in all different directions but stem from technology.  PHS has to be ready to accommodate those students and give them a head start to their intended career paths.  If you look at the list again: Youtuber, vlogger/blogger and filmmaker all land within the top 5 of desirable careers for today’s youth.  Getting kids accommodated with up-to-date technology and applications such as Adobe Premiere can help them learn the process at a young age and get students excited for their future.
We need these two academies for the future generations of students who will enter the doors of PHS.  I understand that there is a lot of planning, staff, and maybe even money to actually implement these.  But if the district really wants to help all students achieve their fullest potential, the reward greatly outweighs the risk.  I understand that these new academies might not be deemed necessary, as there are already courses that students can take to benefit them and prepare them for college in these areas.  A Journalism course exists, as does animation, video editing, radio broadcast and audio production.  But weren’t there band programs prior to the initiation of the performing arts academy? Was there not already an engineering class kids could take as electives?  Even with the existence of these courses, those academies were still added to allow students to provide students a structured path to follow.  Let’s do the same with journalism/creative writing, as well as digital media.  At the time being there is no guarantee a student can get into one of the aforementioned electives if the course is in high demand.  We must implement these academies so more students can take advantage of the liberal arts courses at our school.
I sympathize with these students – the students who want to write, the students who want to create, the students who want to explore careers outside of the four academies at PHS.  I was one of those students. I  missed out on the possibility of joining a writing academy at the high school, because there was no writing academy.  Though I did not have this experience, I wish to create one for the next students to walk through the doors of the school.  I want to enhance the curriculum and learning environment for my peers, and the future.
The addition of academies at the high school was great, but choices are still scarce.  Only six academies are present at the high school today, visual and performing arts, biomedical, pre-law, engineering, and business.  Kids being able to have a greater education should not be based on whether or not they want to major in one of those subjects in college.  If we add a journalism/creative writing and or a digital media academy, the district expands the horizon for all students during high school and college, as well as into their work years as well.  If not, the high school continues to offer a select amount of classes for these careers, but I know that PHS can provide even more opportunities.  Quality of education and success is all we, students, parents and teachers, want.  These new academies are the best way to achieve it.