Most everyone is familiar with the story “The Little Engine that Could.” It is a story that has appeared in many forms dating back to the early 1900s and was made famous when published in 1954 with some revised language and colorful illustrations. In the story much is made about a long train that must be rescued and pulled over a high mountain after its big, powerful locomotive breaks down. Other large locomotives are asked to save the day but, for one reason or another, they can’t or won’t. In the end, a small engine agrees to try and slowly, with great determination, succeeds at the challenge while repeating the mantra “I think I can.”
This article is also about another “small engine” who thinks it can and does, but the similarities to the famous children’s book ends there. This is a story in which the “large engines” do not break down or shy away from challenges and opportunities. In this school district, the large schools and their coaches know how to move heavy loads, make positive things happen for their students, and excel in what they do. What this article is about, however, is embracing an “I think I can” mindset when it seems circumstances are prohibitive or when it may be easier or more convenient to accept the status quo.
In 2017, Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) designated Greater Clark County Schools a Ford NGL Community. The Academies of Greater Clark County were established at three high schools including Charlestown, Jeffersonville, and New Washington. Jeffersonville is the largest school in the county with an enrollment of over 2,100 students, Charlestown High School has over 780 students enrolled, and New Washington with around 180 enrolled. The college and career academies at these schools transform the traditional high school model by preparing their students for careers by linking academic subjects to career themes. Experiential learning makes lessons come alive and different pathways designed and supported by educators, business representatives, and post-secondary partners introduce students to a variety of college and career options.
We recently had the opportunity to talk with two of our Ford NGL staff members, community coaches, Paula Chaon and Donna Woods. Part of the conversation centered around the Academies of Greater Clark County and their success collectively and at each of the schools. One of the stories Donna related was about a visit she made to the academies in April of 2022. “Coming out of the pandemic we knew how difficult it had been for our academies and for education across the country,” recalled Donna. “Visiting communities at that time was a bit like returning home after a hurricane to assess the damage, but what we found was truly amazing. There was strong evidence that, despite COVID, there continued to be effective business engagement coordinated by the district and their academy coaches. Much of it was virtual, but it was just so refreshing to see how they were able to make business engagement happen. It goes to the commitment of the staff, because they chose to push through. They kept people engaged, and there was also a lot of community support. When there were obstacles, they didn’t shy away. They know they can, and they know they are good, but in the spirit of continuous improvement, they also want to make everything better.”
That “I think I can” mentality carries over to the smallest of their academies, the Academies of Greater Clark at New Washington. New Washington is a small city that was established in 1815 and is located in northeastern Clark County. Geographically it covers about 5 square miles, and, according to the 2020 census, has a total population of 595. The school is collocated with a middle school and has 180 students in grades 9 through 12. There are some who will say that the Ford NGL Career Academy Model will not work in a small school, but don’t tell that to New Washington. Like communities of all sizes across the Ford NGL Network, they know how to think creatively and adapt.
According to Donna, “They have demonstrated remarkable dedication and innovation in terms of making the Ford NGL Career Academy Model work effectively. They have focused on providing students with high-quality experience within the theme of the academies while fostering meaningful community partnerships. They adapted the model in a small school setting by thinking creatively, maximizing the resources that they have, and meeting the individual needs of their students. They offer Freshman Academy and provide all the guaranteed experiences for students. They visit three post-secondary schools including a community college, a 4-year university, and a private college. They provide problem-based learning opportunities, a ‘transition summer bridge’ for 8th graders moving into 9th grade and a ‘promise to graduate’ ceremony and breakfast.”
“They have a Business and Entrepreneurship Academy, and because they are small, they remain flexible and adapt. In this case, they operate a snack shop, so the students have first-hand experience of running a business. Their Academy Coach Jill Sceifers even applied for a grant called Project Green which stands for growing and rewarding educational endeavors naturally. Now they actually have an orchard and garden on their property where they work in conjunction with several business partners and universities to grow and sell their crops.”
“As part of the Health Services Academy they do a lot of work with the local businesses such as the 911 call center, making visits with therapy dogs, and partner with the local university to talk about and share information regarding healthy foods and diet. As part of the Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing Academy they have helped to build parts of the greenhouses and aquaponic beds for Project Green as well as grooming stations for the therapy dogs. They also work with a local vet and groomer around the therapy dog initiative as part of the Public Service Academy.”
So how do they make all of this work in a small school setting? “One thing they do is a great job of preparing the students to go out to work with the business partners,“ said Donna. “They work with the student ambassadors to welcome the new students, and they offer a full range of the guaranteed experiences. But in order to do all the things they do, they had to adapt. For example, they have something that’s called an Impact period which is what has helped them establish some purity in the academies. In a small school, each teacher has students from the four career academies and often even some freshmen. This pure time allows them to focus on academy initiatives. It’s offered for 25 min a day, and that’s where the students can engage in team building. In that period they also do a lot of their project-based learning and other types of guaranteed experiences like in-house field trips. They even do some competitions like house cup points where they all have to compete against each other to do various academy activities and celebrations. Jill works with Bryan Reed, the Academy & CTE Coordinator Greater Clark County Schools to do a lot of the work-based learning activities like the ‘shark tank’ project economics students created and presented to some of the local business partners from local banks, business development centers, Indiana University, Southeast, and Leadership Southern Indiana.”
Being so small, are there also structural adjustments that must be made? “Teacher teaming, which is a key component in our model, is a challenge for them. Usually you think about representation from the four core areas of science, social studies, English and math along with the pathway teacher. Being small they have adapted it so that it is a small interdisciplinary team with one English and one math teacher along with a pathway teacher. For team planning they can’t have it built into the school day, so they have a workaround where they use a period zero meeting time. They still do the common elements that we find in highly effective teaming by examining student data just like larger teacher teams, and they use the rolling agenda. There is, of course, the 3 C’s of collaboration, communication, and coordination which must be sustained, so Jill meets with Bryan Reed biweekly, weekly with the executive principal, bi-monthly with the school team leads, counselors, and the academy principals. They hold meetings twice a year with the advisories, and in their district they have common advisories for a similar path for a similar academy. That is excellent because as an academy coach, Jill does not have to lead all of these advisories for her academies and pathways. They also meet regularly with the steering committee which was recently reestablished.”
Bing part of a small community also has some advantages. Paula noted, “There is nothing better than being community connected, and you know, in a small town like New Washington, they can walk into the grocery store, they see people they know, and they can fill them in on what is happening and ask questions, because your high school is the center of a lot of what’s going on. Jill knows everybody. She can pick up the phone and talk to whoever she wants because there are relationships built on trust — trust built on the fact she always comes through on what she says she can do. The other thing is that they have been incredibly innovative in what they come up with to support the kids. I think that fuels Jill, and it keeps the partners excited. Another advantage Jill has is a pillar of consistency over a long period of time. That is an advantage others newer to the role don’t have at their disposal.”
“Whether a small or large community, one thing every academy needs (and Jill is really good at) is social media. She posts all the time about what is happening in the academies,” said Donna. “For example, the therapy dogs I mentioned earlier are named Bluey and Penny. The dogs attended the graduation ceremony along with their student trainers, and Jill posted pictures and details on Facebook. The same was true with coverage of the student ‘shark tank’ presentations and other student experiences such as Freshman Academy’s visit to campuses at Indiana University Southeast and Ivy Tech Community College Sellersburg. In the summer she posted the training that took place with the student ambassadors and, more recently, the ambassadors greeting the new 9th graders. It is just the kind of regular social media that makes you feel connected and a part of what is going on. It is a great form of recognition and acknowledgement too for the students, teachers, and everyone involved.”
The result? In the case of the Academies of Greater Clark at New Washington, in their 2023 cohort, over 95% of their students met their graduation pathway requirements and 81% of their 2023 graduates passed either an AP exam with a score of 3 or higher or they passed a dual enrollment course. So, while this article is about a small career academy that not only thinks it can but does, the story is shared to encourage all academies whether large or small. Sometimes the challenge is size as in the case of New Washington, but we know all too well that challenges come in all shapes and sizes. The key to success is to keep students as the focus of what we do. If we do that and think outside the box with a willingness to adapt, then season the process with a little creativity and a good dose of “I think we can” mindset — great things can happen!
