The Reading School District will give its incoming ninth graders access to the new Reading High School Innovation Academy next school year through a rotating seminar program.
The updated plan was unveiled during a recent school board committee of the whole meeting.
District administrators said the change will meet state requirements while addressing concerns raised by school board members and the community.
The announcement drew an emotional response from Dr. Noahleen Betts, board president, who said she felt healed after experiencing frustration over an earlier decision that excluded freshmen from the academy.
The Innovation Academy, a $57 million career-focused learning center, 817 N. Ninth St., is scheduled to open for the 2026-27 school year.
Administrators said earlier this year that interested students would apply to academy pathways at the end of ninth grade, similar to programs at the Reading-Muhlenberg Career and Technology Center.
Officials said that approach followed guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Education as the academy will operate as part of Reading High School and not as a standalone high school.
The presentation outlined how administrators worked around that limitation.
Rather than assigning freshmen full time to the academy, district officials created a structured ninth-grade seminar and pathway exploration program that will bring students to the building during designated periods while keeping them based at the main high school campus.
Dr. Khalid Mumin, superintendent, said approximately 1,200 ninth graders will participate in the initiative.
“We want to ensure that every ninth grader explores their interests, discovers new possibilities and is prepared to choose the right pathway for their future,” Mumin told the board.
Administrators said students will rotate to the academy during Reading High’s “armor block,” an intervention and advisory period built into the school day.
During that time, students will visit the academy in supervised groups, explore career pathways and participate in a freshman seminar course focused on high school transition skills and career awareness.
Officials said the schedule allows students to experience the academy without disrupting academic courses or violating the academy’s operational structure under state guidance.
Wanda Gonzalez-Crespo, district chief academic officer, said the freshman seminar will help students understand graduation requirements, attendance expectations and pathway opportunities while exposing them to academy programs before they formally select a track.
“This freshman seminar will be used during their intervention block to introduce them to high school and how to do high school,” Gonzalez-Crespo said. “They’ll understand the whole credit system and understand how passing a class is important.”
Betts praised administrators for revising the plan.
“Today is a good day,” she said. “Our administration is able to listen to us, and we can all work together for the good of our 16,000-plus students.”
Betts said the revised structure would allow future students to proudly say they were the first ninth-grade class connected to the Innovation Academy.
“This is history in the making,” she said.
Administrators also announced plans for three freshman success coordinators to support students transitioning from middle school to high school. Mumin said the district hopes to fill those roles with Reading High alumni familiar with the community and student experience.
“It is one of the most difficult transitions, eighth to ninth, documented in our history and demographics within our district,” Mumin said.
The presentation also highlighted new technology and industry partnerships planned for the academy, including anatomy visualization tables, robotics systems, mechatronics training equipment and collaborations with local colleges, manufacturers and businesses.