I am proud and excited about the work we’re doing at Opportunity Education.
By Emily Nitcher / World-Herald staff writer
Mar 22, 2017
Omaha World-Herald Article
A high school with ties to a billionaire philanthropist will open this fall in Bellevue.
The
NGL Academy will begin accepting applications Thursday for its
inaugural class of about 15 ninth-graders. The school, which will
operate on the campus of Bellevue University, is aimed at lower-income
students.
The high school is
being developed by Omaha-based Opportunity Education, which was started
in 2005 by Joe Ricketts, who founded Omaha’s TD Ameritrade. Gov. Pete
Ricketts, Joe Ricketts’ son, is on the nonprofit’s board of advisers,
according to the foundation’s website.
Joe Ricketts began the education foundation after a trip to Africa’s Serengeti plain.
Ricketts’
safari driver said he was building a school and Ricketts decided to
help, according to a video on the foundation’s website. Helping that one
school eventually led to helping schools and students in 11 countries
in Africa and Asia.
The
Bellevue high school and one in Santa Rosa, California, also opening in
the fall, will be the foundation’s first projects in the United States,
said Raymond Ravaglia, the school’s chief learning officer.
The
NGL Academy will use Next Generation Learning curriculum developed by
Opportunity Education. In a press release, Ricketts said the school is
designed to teach students how to learn.
“We
need to prepare young people to succeed in the jobs of the future, and
since we don’t know what those jobs will be, we need to teach them not
just specific skills but more generally how to acquire skills,” Ricketts
said.
The NGL Academy will be pursuing accreditation with the Nebraska Department of Education.
The
curriculum uses technology and personalized learning projects called
“quests.” Teachers serve more as mentors, challenging and engaging
students instead of lecturing to them.
Ravaglia founded the Stanford Online High School and was the director of pre-collegiate studies at Stanford University.
With
Next Generation Learning the focus won’t be on teaching to tests but
helping students become self-educators, which is a skill that lasts
forever, Ravaglia said.
“The goal isn’t to get into college,” he said. “The goal is to be successful when you’re there and when you leave.”
Ravaglia
said the school will be looking for students who feel confined in a
regular classroom and would like lessons to be more interactive.
“In
an era where any fact is just a quick query away, and where even skills
become obsolete over time, the content-centric view of education rooted
in a factory model of schooling no longer serves,” the school’s website
says about the learning philosophy.
Tuition
for the 2017-2018 school year is $14,500, although students who are
admitted will receive near full-tuition scholarships as part of the
Ricketts Family Scholars program.
“The
only way to break the cycle of poverty is to provide students with an
education that will empower them to achieve their dreams,” Ricketts
said.
The school is starting
with about 15 students but would like to grow with future classes. A bus
will be available to transport the students to and from the college
campus in Bellevue. The school year starts on Aug. 22.
Students and parents interested in applying for a spot in the school or in finding more information can visit www.ngl.academy or call 402-403-1267.
