Ben Barber Career Tech Academy  shall contain the school within a school, Frontier High School at Ben Barber, as voted on by school board members at the November 17 meeting.  This school will begin classes next school year with a group of about 220 juniors who can start applying for acceptance into the school this December.

“Frontier High is going to be great because it addresses everyone,” Ben Barber counselor Michelle Brown said.  “Everyone will have the chance to take advantage of what we offer here.”

All Mansfield students can continue to attend Ben Barber’s courses, but Frontier High will take full responsibility and accountability for a select group of upperclassmen who choose to follow a strictly career-tech path.  Students will take their electives, core classes and TCC classes at Frontier, and all other classes such as AP courses can be taken through Virtual School.  This new school will also handle TAKS testing and graduation.

“I’ve heard for years from seniors, ‘I wish I could graduate from Ben Barber,’” Mrs. Brown said.  “As far as I know, we’ve only gotten positive responses for this plan.”

Ben Barber’s staff will not change, but the school will change how it handles students.  Along with hosting their own prom and having an open-all-day cafeteria, Ben Barber will introduce the CUBE, a special student union area where students can meet, work on projects together, use their school-issued laptops and eat food from the Savvy’s Bistro Bar. ETIC teacher Melanie Stillings, who has “always had a passion for something like the CUBE,” is one of many staffers who love the new ideas and cannot wait to make Frontier a reality.

“It’s so exciting,” Mrs. Brown said.  “There are still quite a few unanswered questions, but I’m sure they will get answered as we go along.”

The purple, silver and black Trailblazers signify Frontier High, and animation teacher Kaye Davis is currently working with her students to create a logo for the school.  More information can be found on the press release here.