Academics

Baker Concrete 

This is a very large organization headquartered in Ohio. We have had members of the Baker team fly in from Atlanta, Ohio, Indiana and Local from Washington DC come to the Academies of Loudoun to recruit students from our HVAC, Welding, Building Construction, and Masonry programs. The Baker Concrete welding fabrication lab is located here in Leesburg, VA and has now hired three of our students to work in their metal fabrication facility. These students are earning a generous living working full-time, applying the skills they learned in our Welding Program at the Academies of Loudoun. One student is currently at Penn State and has been offered work on his breaks from college as a fabricator. This spring, the Baker Concrete organization conducted onsite interviews on the Academies of Loudoun campus. https://bakerconcrete.com/

Blue Cloak has been instrumental in lending their time to our CyberPatriot Competition. We have had members of the Blue Cloak team at the Academies of Loudoun at every level of competition helping our students compete. They have also offered our students unique opportunities. One student at the Academies of Loudoun has been hired as a "consultant" based on his research in Quantum Computing. Blue Cloak has also been working with our Cybersecurity instructor to provide guidance on instruction to ensure that the curriculum is reflective of what is actually happening in the industry. They have been an invaluable partner to our school. https://www.blue-cloak.com/

Caliber Collision routinely recruits students for full-time jobs and internships from our Auto Collision program. Caliber consistently donates to the Auto Collision lab at the Academies of Loudoun. These funds are used for tools, improvements to the lab and additional instructional materials. Employees of Caliber Collision also serve on the advisory committee for the Academies of Loudoun Auto Servicing program. They provide advice to the instructor for updated instruction in order to keep up with the rapidly changing Auto Collision industry. Caliber sponsors our SkillsUSA competition and creates job opportunities to our students. https://calibercollision.com/

CBRE Group, Inc., is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the largest commercial real estate services company in the world. Through the work of CBRE, the Academies of Loudoun was able to bring 60 students to CyrusOne, one of the largest data centers in the area. The purpose of the visit was to expose students to the lucrative and rewarding work that happens in data centers everyday. And to expose them to the option of choosing data center operations as a future potential career interest. This was planned in honor of International Data Center Operations Day in October of 2019. CBRE provided our students at the Academies of Loudoun with transportation, lunch, gifts, a tour of the facility as well as information about pursuing Data Center Operations as a potential career. In addition, they invited a representative from Northern Virginia Community College to discuss their new Data Center Operations Certificate Program. http://www.cbre.us/real-estate-services/real-estate-industries/data-center-solutions

https://cyrusone.com/

The Children's Science Center Museum is a 501c3 non-profit organization where children, families and school groups can explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts through fun, engaging hands-on exhibits, activities and programs. This organization has provided a tremendous opportunity to Academies of Loudoun students through internships, camp counselor positions, volunteerism, and opportunities for youth advocacy. Through our valued partnership with the Children's Science Center, our students have been able to utilize the skills they've obtained thus far throughout their education to give back to the next generation of scientists and STEM enthusiasts. https://www.childsci.org/

Cisco generously donated the telecommunication system for the Academies of Loudoun. They have come to the Academies of Loudoun on numerous occasions to talk to our students about their High School Externship Program and selected two students in the Summer of 2019 to participate. This is a comprehensive, unpaid summer externship designed to give rising and graduating high school seniors an introduction to STEAM careers at Cisco. Students are immersed in Cisco’s history, culture, and world of work as full-fledged extern on the Cisco campus. https://www.cisco.com/

The Claude Moore Foundation has had a long-standing tradition of supporting Loudoun County Public Schools. The Claude Moore Scholars Program is a partnership between Loudoun County Public Schools, the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation and Inova Loudoun Hospital. The focus of the program is to develop expanded programs for students in the fields of health and medical science. Those medical programs include pathways in Radiology, Medical Laboratory Technology, Pharmacy, and Introduction to Health and Medical Sciences which are housed within the Academies of Loudoun and truly could not exist without the support of the Claude Moore Foundation. The Claude Moore Foundation has added Practical Nursing to its list of supported pathways while also looking at new pathways, such as health informatics, to help LCPS students grow and support the medical field. https://claudemoorefoundation.org/

CBRE Group, Inc., is an American commercial real estate services and investment firm. The abbreviation CBRE stands for Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis. It is the largest commercial real estate services company in the world. Through the work of CBRE, the Academies of Loudoun was able to bring 60 students to CyrusOne, one of the largest data centers in the area. The purpose of the visit was to expose students to the lucrative and rewarding work that happens in data centers everyday. And to expose them to the option of choosing data center operations as a future potential career interest. This was planned in honor of International Data Center Operations Day in October of 2019. CBRE provided our students at the Academies of Loudoun with transportation, lunch, gifts, a tour of the facility as well as information about pursuing Data Center Operations as a potential career. In addition, they invited a representative from Northern Virginia Community College to discuss their new Data Center Operations Certificate Program. http://www.cbre.us/real-estate-services/real-estate-industries/data-center-solutions

https://cyrusone.com/

In addition to generous financial support, internships, job shadowing days, and classroom visits, General Dynamics included Academies of Loudoun students in a project to build a mobile app for a 501c3 organization called "Sound Off." Sound Off's mission is to connect combat veterans with PTSD to obtain help anonymously from peers or medical professionals.

The mobile app will allow the 47% of combat veterans with PTSD (who do not typically seek help) to anonymously connect without the fear that their colleagues may find out. In order to build this app, General Dynamics enlisted Academies of Loudoun students in a volunteer capacity to working on coding the app. Students assisted with the design of the website and worked virtually from home to build segments of the app and website to ensure that the mobile app's deadline of February 1, 2019 was met. This is mutually beneficial to both Sound Off and the students. The students are excited to put their coding skills to work in a real-world environment. General Dynamics benefits from a number of other "hands" that are involved in helping get this done. A win-win for both sides.

https://www.gdit.com/

Heritage Hall: Heritage Hall specializes in short-term rehabilitation, intermediate and long-term care for patients. Heritage Hall is one of the primary clinical sites for the Academies of Loudoun Nursing Program. With HIPAA laws and liability issues, it is getting increasingly difficult to find clinical sites for our Nursing students. In order to sit for the State board exam to become an LPN, our nursing students must complete at least 400 hours of clinical experience. This type of clinical experience is not just watching a licensed nurse take vital signs, administer medication, assess patients, etc. Our students are actually performing these duties while a licensed instructor oversees their actions. This is a crucial part of preparing Nurses for their state board exams and then ultimately for the workforce. Without the support of organizations like Heritage Hall, we would not be able to provide the in-depth level of learning that we do beyond the classroom and textbooks. https://www.heritage-hall.org/

LNRC provides the students in the Academies of Loudoun Practical Nursing Program with the opportunity to obtain their clinical hours in a real-world setting. LNRC provides both short-term skilled nursing care following an acute hospitalization or surgery, long-term care in a progressive, homelike environment, a full complement of rehabilitation services, including physical, occupational and speech therapy, and supporting services to maximize the safety, health and happiness of our residents. Under the watchful eye of Academies of Loudoun instructors snf LNRC staff, our Practical Nursing students are able to participate in a real-world patient-care setting. This allows them ton put their expertise in action assessing patients, taking vitals, administering medications, bathing and feeding LNRC residents, assisting patients through rehabilitation, and making informed decisions in emergency situations. Without the involvement of facilities LNRC, the Academies of Loudoun Practical Nursing program students are better prepared and ready to start working independently once they obtain their state board certification. https://www.inova.org/locations/inova-loudoun-nursing-and-rehabilitation-center

Robo Loco 5338 is the only First Robotics Team in Loudoun County. It has been in existence since 2013. It is led by the Academies of Loudoun instructor Dr. Michael Tomlinson. Our students compete in RoboLoco on a global scale and Mr. Alex Sohn has been a crucial mentor to the Robo Loco team. Without his input, our students would not be as successful as they have been in competition. Mr. Sohn meets regularly with the team and troubleshoots issues with our robots as well as provides advice to the students about programming and competition. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Janelia Farms has been instrumental in assisting the Academies of Loudoun in the design and configuration of all of our research labs. Representatives from HHMI have been instrumental in providing input to help steer the new Academies of Loudoun facility to reflect the most state-of-the-art resources in lab research. They have also assisted in driving curriculum and mirroring the real-world of scientific research in everyday learning at the Academies of Loudoun. HHMI is also a huge supporter of Loudoun County as a whole, sponsoring our Job for a Day program and serving as part of our school-business partnership. https://www.janelia.org/

Leidos is the primary sponsor for the RoboLoco team. They provide valuable support in terms of time mentoring, financial support and sponsorship for the competition. Without their support, our RoboLoco team 5338 will not be able to compete or have the success that they have had in competing. RoboLoco team 5338 is the only robotics team in Loudoun County led by Academies of Loudoun instructor Dr. Michael Tomlinson. https://www.leidos.com/

Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, defense, arms, security, and advanced technologies company with worldwide interests. Through our partnership with Lockheed Martin Space, we were able to offer students at the Academies of Loudoun who are passionate about engineering, information technology, and software development opportunities for internships, scholarships and apprenticeships. Additionally, the Lockheed Martin high school internship coordinator has invited Academies of Loudoun students to participate in virtual learning opportunities that center around soft skills such as resume development. https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/capabilities/space.html

Loudoun County Fire and Rescue provides classroom space, training equipment, financial support, and support instructors for the Academies of Loudoun. They assist with coordination of live fire exercises. They help student prepare for their state EMS and Fire exams, and provide instruction and guidance to help students succeed. This provides a dramatic cost reduction in expenses incurred by the school system for equipment such as fire engines, textbooks, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), airway training mannequins, ambulances, and consumable EMS training equipment (i.e. bandages, dressings, oxygen therapy adjuncts, etc.). Without their tremendous support, the Firefighter and EMT programs would not be viable in Loudoun County. With the partnership, we are providing the volunteer rescue service with highly trained, certified, and motivated EMTs and Firefighters that serve their communities within Loudoun County. https://www.loudoun.gov/fire

Loudoun Heritage: The Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum is interactive family friendly exhibits, special events, lectures, as well as hands-on classes and programs that meet the Standards of Learning for Virginia. The Museum offers a number of events throughout the year for which students can volunteer. Students can consistently earn needed volunteer hours throughout the school year. Additionally, during the summer, the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum offers opportunities for camp counseling positions to high school students. https://heritagefarmmuseum.org/

LCSO is a valued partner in our efforts to create a safe and secure environment for all of LCPS. In addition to providing SROs to all high schools and middle schools but also assists us in internal investigations, threat assessments, best practice security protocols, routine campus patrols, after hours security enhancements, and judicial liaison. LCSO also partners directly with the Academies of Loudoun's Administration of Justice program. Each week, our Administration of Justice students go to the Sheriff's Office for "Lessons in Law Enforcement." The nine week program was specially designed by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office for students interested in criminal justice careers. The program has provided Academies of Loudoun students access to all components of the Sheriff’s Office. In addition, students toured the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy that provides training to law enforcement personnel from 17 member agencies. They were familiarized with the 20 - 24 week training programs recruits need to complete in order to become sworn law enforcement officers. This exposure has enabled the students to gain valuable insight and develop professional relationships with members of the law enforcement community. The training included specialized programs in the Sheriff’s Office that were implemented to meet the changing needs of law enforcement and the community. Students had a firsthand look at the complex nature of law enforcement. Deputies and Investigators shared some of their most challenging experiences which showed the students the other side of law enforcement not normally visible to the general public. The students completed the training with a better understanding of what it’s like to protect and serve the Loudoun community. https://sheriff.loudoun.gov/

The Loudoun County Economic Development Office, particularly the Workforce and Education committee, has been incredibly supportive and helpful in connecting students with business professionals for internships, mentorships and other experiential learning opportunities. As a result of our relationship, we have been able to connect at least four students in just the first few months of our school being open. Nancy Evanko, Loudoun County Workforce Development Analyst, has been so helpful in sharing contacts from certain industries, facilitating visits to the Academies with potential business partners and more. https://biz.loudoun.gov/

Loudoun Water is a valuable partner to the Academies of Loudoun. They have consistently participated in AET Engineering Week Seminars and events, coordinated field trips to water treatment and water reclamation facilities, including the Aquiary, supported our seniors in their senior research projects, and provided reusable water bottles, shower saver timers, and other useful items for use in the classroom. They have also been a tremendous supporter of our trade programs, having a long history of hiring students into full-time positions upon completion of our Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning and Welding Programs. https://www.loudounwater.org/

ManTech's contributions to the Academies of Loudoun have been significant. They have participated in Career Fairs, sponsored Hackathons, sponsored CyberPatriot and assisted in the classroom. Perhaps the most important contribution that ManTech has made is the inception of the DEFEND Internship program in the Summer of 2019.

ManTech has partnered with the Academies of Loudoun to provide an opportunity for students to begin the process of earning a top-level security clearance while still in high school. ManTech approached the Academies of Loudoun in the fall of 2018 with their DFEND Internship plan. Mr. David Mack met with students and expressed an interest in beginning a partnership with the Academies in which ManTech would hire twenty Academies of Loudoun students while simultaneously beginning the 18-month to 2-year process of obtaining a Green Badge--one of the top-level security clearances available allowing access to all secured government buildings. As the process is quite lengthy, the long-term goal is for the inaugural class of 2019 to be fully cleared and ready to work in a classified internship capacity by the time they are college sophomores.

Over the course of three days, Mr. Mack and his team interviewed more than 70 seniors and a few select juniors to participate in the program. Ultimately, they selected 16 seniors and 5 juniors from the Academies to join their team. While students are waiting for the security clearance process to take place, ManTech hired these students in a non-cleared internship capacity for the summer of 2019 to give them some experience with the company. The inaugural class of the DFEND internship is starting to obtain their security clearances and will return to ManTech for the summer of 2020, along with 15 more Academies of Loudoun students. https://www.mantech.com/

This is why in 2020, ManTech was chosen for the LCPS Make a Difference Award: https://vimeo.com/392744002

The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority has been an exceptional partner for the Academies of Loudoun. MWAA brings a fleet of their vehicles to the Academies of Loudoun and utilize those vehicles to explain the day-to-day function of their organization. They allow students to inspect the vehicles, provide tours through their 12,000 acres of property that spans both Loudoun and Fairfax counties and is utilized to manage one of the largest transportation operations in the nation at Reagan International and Dulles International Airports. Most importantly, MWAA brings at least 10 employees from various sectors within the organization (i.e. HVAC, Welding, Auto Servicing, to share information about building long-term careers with MWAA. Their apprenticeship program provides our students with a generous salary, superior benefits and a clear path to career growth. They have hired HVAC and welding students, and have offered our students multiple opportunities for employment. For Academies of Loudoun students interested in the trades, MWAA is in the top five of all of the best opportunities long-term career placement and retention opportunities that we offer. https://www.mwaa.com/about/about-authority

Northrop Grumman has been a key supporter of the Academies of Loudoun RoboLoco Team 5338. This team, lead by Academy of Science teacher Dr. Michael Tomlinson, has been competing in as a FIRST Robotics Competition team in the Chesapeake district since 2013. This team is the only team in Loudoun that is in existence. Northrop Grumman has provided tools, resources, financial support, advice and much more for the past several years that RoboLoco has competed. Without their support, it is not possible to have this team travel to competition and compete on a global scale. https://www.northropgrumman.com/

Oath has been instrumental in working with the Academies of Loudoun, Academy of Engineering and Technology on the Innovation Challenge. Designed by the members of Oath and the Academies of Loudoun, the Innovation Challenge is a year-long project that involves both students and Oath employees in their quest to find solutions to an authentic real-world problem. Student are divided into teams and assigned an Oath mentor. They meet regularly to brainstorm, research, and come up with scenarios to find solutions. Oath employees have already generously donated their time to mentor students and guide their problem-solving toward a final presentation in which they will offer solutions to the company. https://www.verizonmedia.com/

Perspecta has been instrumental in working with the Academies of Loudoun, Academy of Engineering and Technology on the Innovation Challenge. Designed by the members of Perspecta and the Academies of Loudoun, the Innovation Challenge is a year-long project that involves both students and Perspecta employees in their quest to find solutions to an authentic real-world problem. Students are divided into teams and assigned a Perspecta mentor. They meet regularly to brainstorm, research, and come up with scenarios to find solutions. Perspecta employees have generously donated their time to mentor students and guide their problem-solving toward a final presentation in which they will offer solutions to the company. https://perspecta.com/

Every year, ProJet Aviation hosts the Aviation Expo at Leesburg Executive Airport. The Expo aims to attract students to careers in aviation. With the aviation industry headed for a critical shortfall of future employees over the next several years, the Aviation Expo features industry leaders, vendors, aircraft displays, guest speakers, amazing prizes, demonstrations, and scholarships. In October, 2019, nine Academies of Loudoun students were awarded approximately $80,000 in scholarships thanks to ProJet and their partners. Our students were given the opportunity to win scholarships from universities all around the country. ProJet also provided our students with opportunities for internships. We also have made several connections from the Aviation Expo thanks to our partnership with ProJet. These companies have discussed internships, guest speaking opportunities, student tours and many other options for students to enhance their learning. https://www.projetaviation.com/

Raytheon has been a contributor in many ways to the Academies of Loudoun since its inception. Raytheon was the first company to pledge a generous gift in kind to the Academies of Loudoun in the Fall of 2018. That money is being used to fund equipment for the Cybersecurity lab. They are the primary sponsors of our Cybersecurity lab and they are currently working on an internship program for the summer of 2020. Raytheon has also been an avid supporter of the LCPS’s Job for a Day program as well as the Loudoun County Public Schools Annual Career Fair. https://www.rtx.com/en

SAIC, has been a supporter of both MATA and Entrepreneurship programs for several years. SAIC has provided subject matter experts for the entrepreneurship program and helped several students formulate their business model. They have also been avid supporters of both the MATA CyberSecurity and CISCO programs. SAIC has worked with several instructors to ensure that they are teaching students the latest and greatest in STEM technology. We are extremely grateful for the contributions provided by SAIC in the areas of guest speaking, financial contributions, and a visible presence in the classrooms of Academies of Loudoun. http://www.saic.com/

The employees at STACK in Infrastructure have organized several tours and presentations of their data center for Academies of Loudoun students. We have participated in several shadowing days at Stack Infrastructure in which they have welcomed 90 Academies of Loudoun students to learn about data centers and tour their facility. They invited several clients, to speak to our students to find out how the client uses the services at STACK Infrastructure. If anyone is familiar with the security measures in place at a data center, you'll know that this is a huge exception that this facility has made to allow our students to tour the building and walk among the stacks. Our affiliation with STACK has also led us to several other opportunities for our students. Some of our STACK partners are members of the 7x24 Exchange, which is a not-for-profit organization that provides an educational forum focusing on challenges faced by mission critical industry professionals. Several of the Academies of Loudoun students have applied for scholarships through this organization. Additionally, our relationship with STACK led us to AFCOM, Association For Computer Operations Management, who provides summer internship opportunities for our students. https://www.stackinfra.com/

Telos our primary sponsor for CyberPatriot--a competition sponsored by the AirForce Association in which teams of students seek out vulnerabilities in computer systems in order to prevent hackers from accessing. We have 8 teams who have qualified to advance in the competition--the largest number of teams advancing to date. One of our teams is currently ranked 4th in the state of Virginia. In addition, we have 2 teams that tied (with a few others) for the highest score in the nation in the CISCO category. Additionally, Telos' CEO, John Wood, spends two days each year talking to ACL students about summer internship opportunities. Mr. Wood is a strong proponent of finding young talent and has generously donated to ACL.