Instructor Kristi Slack speaks during an orientation meeting for the Polytechnic Academy in the Center for Engineering Arts and Sciences building on the campus of Chattanooga State on Thursday, Aug. 10, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Polytechnic Academy is a new high school on the college’s campus that allows students to earn their high school diploma and industry certifications at the same time.Kai Smith was more excited than normal for school to resume Thursday, knowing her junior year is going to be drastically different than the past two years of high school.
Instead of riding the bus to her previous school, Smith drove herself to Chattanooga State Community College, where she is enrolled in the Hamilton County Department of Education’s new Polytechnic Academy.
“This is so much better,” Smith said. “It’s just a really good opportunity.”
Smith and about 30 other students from across the county are enrolled in the Polytechnic Academy’s inaugural class, which allows students to earn a high school diploma along with college credit. Students chose between mechatronics, chemical engineering, construction or computer information technology programs, and after graduating high school, they will be able to earn an associate’s degree from Chattanooga State within a year.
Smith said she wasn’t crazy about the traditional high school setting and having to sit still all day, and she’s glad school will now be more hands-on as she moves through the chemical engineering track. It’s also great to be on a college campus and treated like an adult and working toward a career, she said.