Taking care of business [ArticleImageHyperLink] Friday, February 12, 2010 By Krista Peterson Advertising Tempe High has an International Baccalaureate program, McClintock has the Peggy Payne Academy, and now Marcos has the Marcos Business Academy. Marcos partnered with ASU to create the MBA, which will be offered here next year. This program will offer many new classes in areas like accounting, personal finance, marketing and business management Accounting, computer applications, marketing, desktop publishing, web design and business marketing will also be offered as dual-enrollment courses through Gateway Community College. These credits can be transfered to ASU as elective credits. Students who decide to take these classes will have the opportunity to attend events and workshops at ASU with current ASU students and faculty. The university will also offer a special economics course to MBA seniors, allowing them to receive the ASU economics credit while still attending Marcos. “Basically, it is a four-year program. However, sophomores and juniors can finish the program by doubling up on their classes,” said assistant principal Brent Brown. Next year’s freshmen will be the first to complete the four years of business classes. “Next year, I’ll be starting on the new business scholarship,” said freshman Hailey Davel. Students who complete this program will automatically be accepted into W.P. Carey School of Business upon their acceptance to ASU. The MBA will prepare business-inclined students for future courses at W.P. Carey. Brown and principal Frank Mirizio set upon the idea while brainstorming ways to attract more students to Marcos. They did some research and discovered that the number one major among college freshmen is business. Brown and Mirizio contacted the district office to pitch their idea and the MBA was born. “This program will probably bring new students to Marcos because no other high school offers this kind of opportunity,” said sophomore Maree Blanco. This program offers opportunities to students already attending Marcos those that will attend Marcos in the fall.

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