Lease finalized for NEAAAT on ECSU campus
Dr. Linita Shannon
July 08, 2015
The lease for the Northeast Academy of Aerospace and Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT) charter school’s location on the campus of Elizabeth City State University has been finalized. NEAAAT is a STEM school with classes focused on project-based and contextual learning. The courses at the academy also aim to sharpen the students’ problem solving and critical thinking skills. "The NEAAAT learning model is consistent with ECSU’s active design of an agile and team-focused university environment – just starting with 8th and 9th graders. It provides an opportunity for young subscribers to learn a project-based approach in addressing important technology and interdisciplinary challenges in the region, state and beyond. It connects nicely with our Path to Prominence," says Chancellor Stacey Franklin Jones. The charter school will eventually graduate students with a high school diploma. The school, which is to be located in the Willie and Jacqueline Gilchrist Education and Psychology Complex, will open in August. The Gilchrist building is ideal for the program since its location is on the outer bounds of campus providing easy access for buses and parents. In addition, since the program will be housed in the same building as the university’s education department, ECSU undergraduate and graduate level students will have the opportunity to serve as student-teachers and/or provide other educational engagement. Elizabeth City State University was most recently named by Washington Monthly as one of the "Best Bang for the Buck" institutions. ECSU has 28 undergraduate degree offerings and four graduate degree programs, flexible study options, and research opportunities.