Engineering Technology Academy
Mission Statement
In 2014, West Catholic Preparatory High School, in collaboration with Drexel University, launched an Engineering Technology Academy at West Catholic Prep. The mission of the Academy is to provide a select group of students with the opportunity to acquire basic engineering skills through a project based curriculum, during which they will gain confidence in their ability to learn and apply the principles of art, mathematics, computer programming and physics.
A four year program, The Engineering Technology Academy, is built into the core curriculum and is designed to give students a real-world, inter-disciplinary approach to learning by doing. In each year of the program, students will be assigned projects that will require them to learn and apply computer-assisted design (CAD) skills that incorporate principles of art, mathematics and physics. They will manufacture their designs using on-site equipment, and then articulate the principles that enabled their designs to work. This approach is based on the belief that students will learn best by continuously applying the “plan – do – check – act cycle” to increasingly complex projects, so that by graduation they will be prepared to take responsibility for their own learning processes and achieve success in their goals for higher education and contributing to society. Drexel University is offering to give students, who successfully complete this program, credit for two (three credit) electives if they choose to enter their Engineering Technology program.
Admissions
Interested students should discuss with their parents/guardians whether the program matches their capabilities and ambitions. If they determine that the Engineering Technology Academy matches their interests and ambitions, the next step is to refer to the admissions section of our website to complete the general school admissions requirements, and then submit the Academy Application for review.