JB Hensler Academy

What does it take to make students want to attend school? How do learning environments inspire students to dream big and create futures beyond what they might have traditionally imagined?

The JB Hensler Academy is successfully engaging students and generating enthusiasm for learning through both its design and program offerings. Flexible and diverse learning environments allow students to collaborate, study, and engage in real-world learning experiences to earn certifications and higher education credits.

A central student union is the hub of the center and is emblematic of the sense of community the building aims to facilitate.

The building itself attracts interested and motivated students to come and create their future within its brick façade and towering entry. The materials are chosen to have a higher ed feel to attract top students to become the next generation of leaders, and interactive learning is promoted by locating all of the programs near each other to be viewed and explored as one institution. Any student in the district can attend to become career or college ready by obtaining certifications and college credit.

An intensive planning cycle evaluated both educational program demands and facility requirements for 14 of the career clusters offered by the district and an Ed Spec was written to help determine space needs for each program. The result determined which programs would remain on high school campuses and which would belong at the CTE Center. More expensive courses are at the centrally located CTE Center for all students to provide the best value for the District.

Over a period of five years, the design team collaborated with the district and the larger community to identify which career pathways would best serve the local region and best set students up to be employable as early as possible. Community business partners provide resources and curriculum consultation. The programs offered not only teach students through hands-on, experiential activities, but they also go toward earning licenses and certifications, enabling students to enter the workforce upon graduation or enter the next phase of their education several credits ahead. This results in a mutually beneficial system in which students graduate with marketable skills and businesses have a pipeline of trained workers, ready for hire.