In 2021, Copper Island Academy established an elementary school and middle school. The copper country’s charter school later built a separate gymnasium for physical education programs and indoor practices. Yesterday the Copper Island Academy broke ground on the new high school, expected to open in time for the 2026-27 academic year.
Some of our previous students had overheard us talking to last year’s eighth grade, this year’s ninth, about the potential of a high school. And they actually went out and did all the work they needed to help become a part of the school this year. So we launched with a 9/10 instead of just a ninth grade because all the work they put in. – Matt Laho, Director of Operations and Instruction, Copper Island Academy
The project will invest 6.5 million dollars into a 19,000 square feet facility. Copper Island Academy will work with Moyle Construction on the project. Moyle Construction director Andy Moyle says his crew will build the entirety of the new high school, inside and out. Outfitting some of the classroom space for career-oriented courses in nursing, and even construction trades.
With the high school here, we’re going to have a lot of hands-on instruction, and it’s more of a pathway model. So, students will choose whether they want to enter into a skilled trades pathway, a nursing pathway, and so on. And all of our pathways at the end of it, if they do the fifth year, could have an associate degree when they walk out of here. – Matt Laho, Director of Operations and Instruction, Copper Island Academy
Moyle Construction works closely with the Copper Country ISD’s Career and Technical Education Construction Technology program. In May, the company helped students complete a new home in Houghton. Moyle says programs like CCISD’s CTE and the Copper Island Academy’s plans at the high school help introduce youth to different industries before they make larger decisions about their future careers.
Copper Island Academy for example, there’s already 10 10th graders that are very interested in the skilled trades for building trades. We also have another 10 10th graders that are interested in welding and manufacturing. So, this is all right into what our community needs and what these kids want to do. So, we’re just providing those opportunities, and we have to do it at a, we’ll call it a county-wide scale. We need it in our middle schools or high schools. You need the opportunities at the Copper Country Intermediate School District where they can really focus in on two hour blocks at a time into these trade programs. the welding programs and the construction programs. – Andy Moyle, President, Moyle Construction
The Copper Island Academy takes element of Finland’s education model and applies it the American education system. Through outdoor instruction, and increased hands-on learning opportunities, the school sees students thrive. Those interested in learning more about the Copper Island Academy can find more details online at Keweenaw report dot com.
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