Nesbitt Discovery Academy
Buncombe County Schools
Nesbitt Discovery Academy is a STEM high school with a focus on career and college readiness, replicating an innovative, high tech, research environment merging educational practices with business principles. This newly designed 21st Century public high school serves as a learning lab for students from throughout Buncombe County, preparing them for college and careers in STEM-related disciplines.
The Discovery Academy provides a challenging student-centered curriculum focused on preparing students for real world problem-solving, developing talent in STEM fields and leading to industry credentialing and post-secondary credit acquisition. Teachers are advisors, not lecturers, in the Discovery Academy. They outline real world problems and challenge small student groups to inquire, develop process and test solutions. Each student has a mentor from the community or business partner to provide internship opportunities and perspective.
The architecture is inspired by the high tech, cutting edge offices of Google, Microsoft, the Idea Center, Facebook and others. Unfortunately, the project budget did not compare to those highly successful corporations. So, the challenge was to present an "edgy" environment that is inspirational and supportive of students and staff; high tech in feel and function, and utilizes transformation of common, low cost materials to encourage "out of the box" thinking, while in the "box".