LOXLEY, Ala. (WALA) – It was a giant step to open Baldwin County Preparatory Academy on time for students last week. The state-of-the-art facility is state-of-the-art not only for the state, but for the entire country. State Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey was given a tour of the school on Monday, August 12, 2024, to see how students are adjusting.
If you’ve driven north of Loxley on Highway 59, it’s hard to miss the Baldwin County Preparatory Academy. Sitting on 70 acres of donated land, the school is as big on the inside as it looks on the outside, at over 190,000 square feet.
“I got lost about two or three times just trying to find my class,” said Chylenn Dortch, a civil engineering student.
The students are only on their third day of school and are now getting used to their new surroundings. Their reactions are full of excitement.
With the new school comes a new approach to education. The 772 students enrolled no longer have to leave their home campus to learn the trade skills they signed up for. This is their new home, so all subjects are taught here. One of the classes Dr. Mackey toured was an American history course taught in an open, pod-like classroom with three teachers working with the large class.
Mackey toured the facility with Baldwin County School Superintendent Eddie Tyler and school administration staff. There are only a handful of schools in the entire country that use this educational model, and Mackey sees it as the future of education.
“It integrates all the things we’ve talked about over the nearly seven years I’ve been state inspector general into one building, and we’re happy to be partners here, and certainly a lot of credit goes to this board and to Mr. Tyler for their vision … for their willingness to invest,” Mackey said.
The investment is over $100 million, half of which will come from a bond that the school system will repay over the next 20 years.
H/VAC, as well as plumbing and electrical engineering, welding, aerospace, automotive and construction engineering are just some of the careers offered. Health sciences, cosmetology, advertising design and culinary arts are also popular courses. Student demand is enormous: there were more than 1,600 applications, but fewer than 800 places were filled.
“I think it’s very emotional for all of us in Baldwin County. It’s still surreal,” Tyler said. “Every time I walk through here, I learn something new. Now that the students have been here for the third day, it’s just… the feel of this building, I mean, it’s a school.”
It is a school unlike any the second, third and fourth year students have ever experienced before, and the first impressions were good.
“This is a really big school for one. It’s really big. It was really beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Paige Williams, a health sciences student. “It’s really unique and different. It’s not like the other high schools.”
“A lot of kids signed up. They said at least 700 made it,” Dortch said. “800 didn’t make it, so I feel lucky and blessed. I’m blessed enough to have this opportunity.”
With the completion of the technical part of the school, these possibilities will only increase.
The popularity of the school is reflected in the number of students. Of the 772 students registered, only three were absent on opening day. As a side effect of the Baldwin County Preparatory Academy, the pressure on students at other high schools in the county has been reduced by an average of 80 to 90 students per school.
Copyright 2024 WALA. All rights reserved.
