This will be the first year for the state-sponsored program, which was created for two primary reasons, Roberts said. The first is to provide a challenging program for exceptional high school students who have shown an interest in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The second is to stimulate Kentucky’s economy, Roberts said. According to a brochure promoting the academy, the economies of states are closely tied to the educational opportunities within them. Roberts said that Kentucky is currently ranked 47th in the nation when it comes to the number of scientists and engineers.
“And who wants to be almost next to last?” she said.
Roberts said that in the program’s first year, about half of the students would be juniors and the other half would be seniors. Among the Trigg County students, A.J. Bridges and Taylor Bryant will be seniors and Suzanna Sadler and John Mark Adams will be juniors. When students are accepted as juniors, they attend the academy for both of their remaining high school years. Upon graduating, they will have already earned 60 hours of college credit.
Read about WKU's Academy of Math and Science in the latest edition of The Cadiz Record.
