Posted Date: 04/23/2021
October 29, 2020 – In early 2018, the Amarillo Independent School District embarked on an ambitious plan to transform the 231,000-square-foot former Hastings store on Plains Boulevard into a state-of-the-art campus of the future. Today, the District unveiled the school’s name: AmTech Career Academy.
“This has certainly been a labor of love,” said AISD Superintendent Doug Loomis. “After sorting through almost 500 names submitted by more than 800 students, parents, staff and community members, we worked with our branding agency to come up with AmTech Career Academy. It was immediately embraced by everyone involved, and we’re thrilled to move to the next stage of communicating all of the amazing things AmTech will bring to the city and beyond.”
AmTech Career Academy, or AmTech, combines “Amarillo” as a nod to the strong community ties, as well as “Technology” to emphasize the cutting-edge technological components featured in the new school. It also includes “Career Academy” from the initial working name, Amarillo Career Academy, because the school’s leadership team and District stakeholders felt that the programs offered will prepare any student for any career.
“AmTech Career Academy is the pinnacle of innovation in education,” said Jay Barrett, current principal of Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning and future principal of AmTech. “Not only is the campus unlike any other school around, but the way we’re approaching education is different. We have created ‘Visiting Professional Symposia,’ a learning space filled by local professionals who will breathe life into our students’ career aspirations by conducting weekly hour-long seminars in the over 30 different pathways we offer at AmTech. We will operate more like a college, with no bells, comfortable student-centered collaborative learning spaces, and multiple opportunities for students to gain work-based learning experience.”
In addition to a new way of teaching and learning, AmTech has features not found in typical high schools, including:
“We see AmTech as our opportunity to strengthen the workforce in Amarillo and the surrounding areas for generations to come,” continued Loomis. “This facility and everyone involved are giving students the chance to really explore their passions, their interests and various career paths, all while learning in the most advanced environment possible. We are so thrilled to bring AmTech to our community.”
Thirty-five pathways will be taught within the nine major programs:
AmTech Career Academy will open its doors to students fall of 2021. For information on how to enroll, or if your company is interested in becoming a business partner, please visit amtech.amaisd.org.