READING, Pa.- It’s the first day of school for many districts in Berks County, including the Reading School District. This year, for the first time, staff welcomed students to RSD’s brand-new Innovation Academy.
“I fell in love with this school in 7th grade,” says sophomore Cassandra Velez.
“That’s the first time I saw the design of how this school’s going to turn out, and then I knew that I wanted to be a student at this school,” Velez remarked.
Students attending the Innovation Academy toured the facility Monday. Classes begin Tuesday, and many spaces are set up to offer hands-on learning opportunities.
“I feel like this really gives the students an upper hand in their future and the jobs that they can apply to and what they can get,” says sophomore Joshua Alamanzar.
“[Also] how it will help them as well with colleges because they’re going to give us a lot of hands-on experiences,” Alamanzar added.
Amanda Helm, an associate principal at Reading’s Innovation Academy, says the school’s mission is to connect education to opportunity.
“We’re taking this idea of a much bigger high school and bringing it down into much smaller academies where students get to engage in really targeted career pathway development,” says Helm.
About 500 students are attending the STEM academy for its debut year.
“It really feels like you can be noticed in this school and get the help you may need,” says Alamanzar.
“I think that it’s going to help a lot of kids decide what they want to be in the future,” Velez tells WFMZ.
“I’m just excited to see where we can go,” says Helm.
“We have such a phenomenal team here and a lot of people who really believe in what we’re doing with this programming,” Helm remarked.
The long-planned school is on North 9th Street at the site of the former Reading Outlet Center.