Scott Palmer is a coach. Not just in title for Ford NGL, but in life. No, he’s not a life coach…yet. But he is a career academy evangelist, an effective facilitator, and a passionate coach of the community-connected approach to education transformation that is the FNGL model.
Rewinding the past thirty plus years, you’d find Scott pacing the sidelines of a football field, basketball court, or the dugout of a baseball diamond honing his craft—helping his teams to focus on the process, using a strong “why” as the fuel to drive them toward their goals. Seeing the heights to which fully engaged student-athletes can soar motivated Scott to create similar relevant learning experiences as a classroom teacher and school-to-work coordinator.
Trading in his whistle for an office and his clipboard for a clicker didn’t change his approach. Scott coached a phenomenal team of teachers in co-creating and leading an award-winning career academy. Armed with a desire to replicate this model and a passion to change the high school experience for all students, Scott subsequently supported a larger (200+ programs) and more diverse (30+ buildings) team as a Regional Career Technical Education Administrator.
While preaching the gospel of the career academy in metropolitan Detroit, Scott connected with the Ford NGL leadership team and was immediately hooked. The inclusive and collaborative organizational culture and transformative model for changing education left Scott longing to join the team. While his working life began as a stock boy in a small, family owned grocery store, Scott will consider himself blessed if his career ends while still holding the role of…coach.
