Phoenix area gets new business magnet high school

Many Phoenix-area parents and students are about to get an impressive new choice when it comes to selecting a high school. Starting immediately after the holiday break, Marcos de Niza High School in the Tempe Union High School District will partner with the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University to become the first business magnet high school in the Tempe area.

"We wanted to do something special to make our school even more appealing to area students," said Marcos de Niza High School Principal Frank Mirizio. "Over the summer, we did research showing that the number one declared major in universities across the country is business. Since we have the internationally renowned W. P. Carey School of Business right in our backyard, this partnership was ideal."

Under the new plan, the high school will now include the Marcos Business Academy, and the W. P. Carey School of Business is already consulting with teachers to help develop the curriculum. Students will focus on core business fields, such as marketing and management, and they will have access to seminars, guest speakers and student mentors from the W. P. Carey School of Business.

"The students will be put on a path that gives them a great head start for business school in college," said Tim Desch, assistant dean for undergraduate admissions at the W. P. Carey School of Business. "In addition to their other business-oriented high school courses, they will actually take a semester of macroeconomics at the W. P. Carey School of Business on campus at ASU. By the time they're ready for college, they will have met college students, taken college classes and have a real advantage in adapting to college life."

Business magnet schools and programs have been introduced across the country in places as diverse as downtown Los Angeles; Nashville, Tenn.; and Bridgeport, Conn. Magnet schools are public schools with specialized curricula designed to draw students from across normal school boundaries. The Tempe Union High School District expects this new program to be a huge draw, and the W. P. Carey School of Business is looking forward to making an impact with the students.

"We are focused on changing lives through education," said W. P. Carey School of Business Dean Robert Mittelstaedt. "Marcos Business Academy will help us deliver our resources to high school students who will have a bright future in the business world."

To learn more about enrolling a student at Marcos Business Academy, visit www.tuhsd.k12.az.us/mdn.