Take Your Pick
It is a known fact that in the Bergen County Academies, located in Hackensack, New Jersey, that once a student applies and gets into an academy, they cannot switch out of it for the rest of the high school period. For the most part, alumni tend to pick a profession related to the academy they have been in. However, there have been cases when alumni of the Bergen County Academies end up searching for another profession after wasting their four years on a subject they have now grown to dislike.
The Academies are made up of 7 smaller divisions; Academy for Medical Science Technology (AMST), Academy for Business and Finance (ABF), Academy of Culinary Arts and Hotel Administration (ACAHA), Academy for the Engineering and Design Technology (AEDT), Academy for Telecommunications and Computer Science (ATCS), Academy for Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA), and the Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology (AAST). The subdivisions within Bergen County Academies are created to give students who are interested in the following topics some extra information so that they will have the background information to help them in college.
“I choose to be in the medical academy,” says Anthony, a freshman at Bergen Academies. “[When I grow up] I want to be a doctor.” When asked if he went into the future and saw that he would grow to hate the topic, he said that he “wouldn’t regret it.” It would be just one of those things in life when one would go, “Too bad.”
Barbara Lasher, a guidance counselor for the medical students at the academies, in a sense, agrees with Anthony’s statement. According to Lasher, the policy has been followed “forever.” When asked why, she replied, “The answer is actually pretty simple. Freshman year you have an academy that you’re in. If you were to switch, you would have the core basis to make up.”
What she is talking about is the fact that there are certain required core classes for each academy. For example, a student in the medical academy takes biology, medical science seminar, and chemistry in their first year. Also, someone in the engineering academy takes physics and chemistry during freshman year. “If someone transferred, they would never be able to make it up,” she points out, because as the years progress, more classes and activities are required from certain academies. There will be too much on their plates. This brings forth the question of how students can partake in the subjects that truly interest them when they have requirements to get rid of.
Amongst the students themselves, there is a difference of opinion about the situation. Molly, a junior in the business academy, is content with her academy choice at the moment, and thinks the rule is adequate for the academy atmosphere. When asked why, she explained, “I don’t think I’ll regret [my choice]. You still get to learn a little about other [activities] that interest you and what you want.” What she is referring to are the electives provided and made available for students, as was Barbara Lasher. For example, there is a culinary elective called ‘All About Chocolate,’ which is open to all students, regardless the academy that they are in. There are many electives out there that focus on other topics, such as science, art and performing, business, etcetera. This way, if a student is interested in other topics, the student is free to explore.
Some other students, however, think that the choice of switching academies is up to the individual. “For me, it’s not a problem,” says Geeny, a medical sophomore at BCA who enjoys being in the academy. “Ever since I was five, I wanted to be a doctor.” When asked if she would probably grow to regret her decision of being in the medical academy, she shook her head, and stated that she probably would still want to be a doctor. “[But] some people regret [their] choice. Some people should be able to [switch].”
Though the policy remains unchanged, the waters are rocky along the shores of the academy. Apparently, the few waves that are being created are not harsh enough to rock over the boat.
