Organizational Profile. ACE Academy MacArthur High School, Irving ISD 3700 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, Tx., 75062

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1 Organizational Profile ACE Academy MacArthur High School, Irving ISD 3700 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving, Tx., About Irving A neighborhood in Irving, Texas, was noted as the most racially diverse in the country this year by NBC DFW News in January of the new year, 2013, as well as in the Dallas Morning News. As part of the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex, we see the diversity found within Irving reflected in our public schools. About MacArthur High School MacArthur High School in Irving ISD is a public high school with students that represent a wide variety of backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Our student population has been noted to include students from over 40 different countries and language backgrounds. Teachers and administration at MacArthur are involved in supporting students in academics, after-school activities and athletics. The ACE Academy The ACE Academy at MacArthur High School strives to provide opportunities for every MacArthur High School student to be a leader in the fields of Architecture, Construction, and Engineering. Our goal is to train, prepare, and certify students for further studies and careers in Architecture, Construction, and Engineering. From an introductory course in their first year, students can choose to advance in upper level classes in each field. From our first to third year of the ACE Academy, enrollment has grown significantly. We now have five teachers and 377 (February 2013) students enrolled in ACE Academy classes. Architecture Pathway The ACE Academy is open to any student at MacArthur High School who wishes to choose elective courses in architecture, construction, and engineering. Our class sizes in this program are kept to a maximum of about 20 students, in order to facilitate hands-on projects. During their first year, students take Principles of Architecture, Construction, and Engineering. For their second year, students can choose to follow a pathway in one of these fields. In the Architecture pathway, students take Architectural Design during their second year, Advanced Architectural Design in their third year, and have the option to take a Practicum course in their senior year. Our architecture classroom is set up with both hand drawing and computer equipment and software, as well as tables for model building. In upper level classes, students receive instruction in sketching, measured drawings, model building, Revit software, and presentation skills. Diverse Student Populations Our school has significant minority student representation and participation in our programs, and we are working to encourage female students to progress in the courses as well as males. Taking a sample from a teacher's roster in the program, about 47% of the students in the introductory classes come from families where a language other than English is spoken at home. The majority of these students' home languages is Spanish, although languages such as French, Bengali, Nepali, and Urdu are represented as well. In our ACE courses, we have students with backgrounds from countries that include Mexico, El Salvador, Argentina, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and more. Female as well as minority students are continuing into upper level ACE classes. In our Advanced Architectural Design, five out of nineteen

2 students are currently female. Similarly, our upper level Engineering Design classes have about four out of fourteen female students. Next year, ACE hopes to add Interior Design as an elective, to help encourage more female students to take courses in our ACE Academy. Student Organizations To support our diverse student groups in the ACE Academy, we have a variety of student organizations. The ACE Academy has had the first AIAS high school chapter in the nation, which meets regularly to provide information, encouragement, and enrichment opportunities to all students in architecture. The MacArthur AIAS chapter currently has two female as well as two male club officers who run meetings, take meeting minutes, and plan activities. To help spur their interest, college students in the Architecture program at The University of Texas at Arlington have attended club meetings to speak with the students at MacArthur High School. The SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) Student Chapter encourages Hispanic students as well as students of all nationalities to become involved in ACE classes and engineering-related activities. In , the SHPE club in the ACE Academy has grown with up to 40 student members. Students have been involved in social events, mentorship, competitions, and leadership opportunities as club officers. For example, club members have attended a conference hosted at the University of Texas at Dallas for SHPE members, where students met Hispanic mentors and leaders in the field of engineering. The ACE Scholars club is sponsored by the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). The purpose of the club is to encourage young women to participate in architecture, construction, and engineering with opportunities for leadership, activities, and fellowship. Students are introduced to female leaders in the architectural, engineering and construction fields, which have historically been male-dominated. Our club is open to male students as well, who have been successful in supporting and organizing activities. The club recently partnered with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, pairing middle school students with high school students as well as female professionals in architecture. Their challenge was to design a structure that was made out of Girl Scout Cookie boxes for the Dallas area Cookie Box Creations competition in the Perot Museum. Last year, ACE students won a drafting competition that was sponsored by NAWIC, which had then prompted the development of this club.

3 Abigail Grass, ACE Teacher Education University of Texas at San Antonio Master of Architecture Texas A&M University Bachelor of Environmental Design Certification LEED AP BD + C Texas Teaching Certificate Grades 8-12 Trades and Industry Skills Teaching Computer drafting and design software: Revit, AutoCAD, Sketchup Hand drafting Sketching Construction Documents Experience + Roles High School Architecture and Construction Teacher Responsible for the development and delivery of curriculum for introductory architecture and construction technology courses. Classes included lessons on design software (SketchUp, Revit, AutoCAD, Photoshop), word processing (Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Open Office), presentation skills, teamwork, career training, safety and tools. Managed student behavior, assignments, grades, and discipline, as well as communication between parents, administrators, and school specialists. Taught courses for San Antonio ISD, Edgewood ISD, and Irving ISD Facility Programmer, Facility Programming and Consulting Developed architectural programming documents for educational buildings and campuses. Analyzed data, interviewed clients to determine needs, prepared graphic and written documents for client meetings, made presentations Architectural Practice Created design and construction documents for educational, commercial, technology and aviation projects. Coordinated work between engineering and architectural disciplines. Developed presentations and meeting documents Architectural Intern for Carter-Burgess/Jacobs, Ft. Worth and San Antonio Architectural Intern for Alamo Architects, San Antonio

4 Testimonial I graduated from MacArthur High School in the Class of 2012 with the vision of becoming an architecture engineer. It is hard to imagine what my vision would have looked like if it wasn t for the elective courses that I took in high school. Being part of the Architecture and Construction program provided me with valuable skills and experience that other freshman students lacked. Not only did I have a lot of fun in my Architecture Design class and learned a lot of interesting things, but also gained more from the class that I could have anticipated. Because we worked with one of the latest architecture design software, I was already familiar with CAD and its features when entering college. I learned a great variety of things, from architecture history to basic architecture terminology to different architecture styles. The group projects encouraged individual and collaborative thought and challenged my ability to express my ideas and think creatively. The skills I acquired during the two years of architecture class in high school are helping me succeed in college and I know will also help me prosper later in life as an architecture engineer. Ernesto Bunuelo Ernesto Bunuelo

5 February 2013 My name is Francine Hawkins-Alegeh and I was asked to create a mentor program with the Macarthur High School ACE program that would be affiliated with NAWIC. I got involved with the program by offering the NAWIC CAD competition project to Mr. Justin Miley, ACE Academy Coordinator, a few years ago. It offers first, second and third place winnings to students who participate, leading to scholarship money if placed at Nationals. This will be the third year of Macarthur High School ACE group being involved with NAWIC. Last year we decided to create a mentor program for the students to get them more involved in the construction industry and to get more girls to participate in the ACE program. Under the mentor program the students will have access to the women of National Association of Women In Construction for internships, tours, knowledge pool of the industry amongst other things that we may be able to offer to the students, including local engineering and construction competition sponsorships. We have created a name for the group called ACE Scholars. The goal is to get it up and running and then take it to other school districts and other states as well. I am also a member of the ACE Board or Committee to help the instructors and department incorporate real life situations and tools of the trade into the ACE Program. As a leader of the mentor program I also volunteer my time to help individual students with senior projects. I give them information on what they will have to do in real life situations to complete a project in the fields of engineering and construction. I think that this mentor program has been of benefit to a senior that I have worked with because he now knows first hand from a professional in the community how to handle a project from start to finish in the work place. Also, we have competed with a small group in the Girl Scouts Cookie Box Creations. I helped by offering my time during the evenings to help with the structure and to provide meals for the students staying late to get this project ready for the competition. The students showed leadership qualities and, by being together for long periods of time, developed new friendships and team ethics. This is the first year for the NAWIC mentor program, but it shows great potential for future students coming to the ACE Program. Francine Hawkins-Alegeh Francine Hawkins-Alegeh

6 February 21, 2013 To whom this may concern, During the years I attended high school at Mac Arthur High School of Irving, Texas, where I took a couple construction science, construction technology, and architectural drafting courses. They began to be offered the year I began high school therefore I had the advantage of participating in these courses from the start. These classes inspired me and gave me the knowledge about two careers that interested me for my future and allowed me to further educate myself on them to be able to choose the right path for college. I learned about all the construction systems, techniques and tools as well as the art of architecture and how closely these two work together. My two supportive teachers Mr.Miley and Mr.Lunde went out of their way many times to enroll us in field trips, competitions, and supply us with more tools necessary to teach us the beauty in design and construction. It was mostly hands on classes where we worked with wood framing and made elevation/site drawings for example that made it very fun as well as educational. These classes taught me many college-based information that has helped me continue to smoothly advance through my classes. The hand drafting skills I learned, computer drafting programing, and even the CSI divisions have all come up in the classes I am enrolled at the University of Texas at San Antonio. These classes and mainly these professors gave me so much fuel to achieve greater things in life, I am so grateful and appreciate everything they have done; I recommend many to take the opportunity that was given to me. It will strengthen your knowledge and give you a head start to what you ll be doing in college for your architecture or construction career. Gabriella Fonseca Gabriella Fonseca

7 ACE Academy MacArthur High School Supporting Materials ACE Student Model Building in Advanced Architectural Design Class ACE Students Preparing for a Structures Competition

8 ACE Academy MacArthur High School Supporting Materials ACE Scholars, Girl Scouts, and Mentors Planning for Cookie Box Creations Competition ACE Scholars and Girl Scouts in Cookie Box Creations Competition

9 ACE Academy MacArthur High School Supporting Materials ACE Students Designing with Revit, Guided by Teacher

10 ACE Academy MacArthur High School Supporting Materials ACE Students Watching Demostration Of Energy Technology by Advanced Energy Solutions, Guest Speaker ACE Students involved in Group Activity Led by Guest from University of Texas at Arlington

11 ACE Academy MacArthur High School Supporting Materials ACE Student Adding Weight to her Tower in Destination Imagination Structures Competition ACE Students Working on Model of Building Design

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