The story of the Academies of Shakopee is more than a set of strategies, tools, or events. It is a reminder of what becomes possible when a community commits to learning together. Every piece of Shakopee’s work tells the same story. Communication is connection. Partnerships open doors. Shared language builds trust. Students grow when adults around them speak with clarity and purpose.
The work of branding and communication is not cosmetic. It is foundational. Without it, exploration becomes confusing. Partnership becomes uncertain. Opportunity stays out of reach. With it, the path becomes visible for every student, whether they come from a family new to the community, a small local business, or one of the thousands of companies that call Shakopee home.
Shakopee demonstrates how transformation moves from idea to practice. Clear tools make partnership accessible. Strong systems make the work sustainable. Student voice makes the story real. Teacher connection makes learning relevant. Community belief makes everything possible.
The ABCs of Academy Branding and Communication are not just steps. They are the foundation of a school that belongs to its city and a city that invests in its school. They show that when communication is intentional, every stakeholder understands where they fit and why their involvement matters. And when that happens, students are surrounded by a community that is truly connected to their learning.
This is the so what. A well-communicated academy model does not simply inform. It transforms.
A Community Grounded in Shared Purpose
Understanding the Landscape and Why Communication Matters
The Academies of Shakopee are housed within a single comprehensive high school serving more than 2,700 students. The district serves more than 8,000 students and is the third-largest employer in a city with more than 45,000 residents and over 3,900 companies that operate locally, nationally, and globally.
The academies are part of both the Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) network and the Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS), grounding the work in community connected learning and real-world experience.
Shakopee’s Chamber of Commerce plays a unique role as the community’s coordination partner. In Ford NGL language, this is known as the convening organization, the entity that brings schools, industry, and civic partners into shared alignment. Readers unfamiliar with the convening organization concept can connect with us to learn more about how this structure strengthens regional collaboration.
This relationship provides Shakopee with a natural bridge to local industry, enabling the district to stay connected to business growth, economic development, and workforce needs.
Communication is not simply a component of this structure. As Shakopee demonstrates, communication is the structure.
A Community Story Built on Clarity
How Shakopee Shifted Public Understanding of the Academies
One of the earliest barriers Shakopee faced was the common belief that academies required students to choose career paths too early. As questions like How are students supposed to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives surfaced, the district realized that shifting the narrative would require consistent, accessible language across all community audiences.
The district developed clear explanations of the what and why of the academies and used public resources, such as the “Academies of Shakopee Difference” video, to show families, partners, and civic leaders how the model works. The video highlights that students explore pathways rather than commit to careers, and it helps clarify how the middle school gateway course model feeds into high school exploration. Each sixth- and seventh-grader experiences a one-quarter rotation in each academy area, giving them authentic exposure before choosing their path for tenth grade.
This clarity helped the community see academies not as limitations, but as opportunities.
Breaking Down Barriers Through Shared Language
How Consistent Messaging Supports Partnerships and Community Understanding
Shakopee identified three essential elements the community needed to understand:
- The what of the academy structure
- The why behind the district’s transformation
- The how that makes partnerships meaningful
These elements became the foundation of every communication effort. As Tiffany Olson shared during a recent webinar, mixed messaging dilutes trust. A clearly articulated why must be consistent across teachers, families, administrators, and partners.
This shared language became especially important as Shakopee continued to connect with its more than 3,900 industry partners. Because these partners range from large global companies to small family-owned businesses, consistent terminology ensures that all partners understand their role and value.
The district’s emphasis on shared language created the foundation for deeper engagement and prepared partners for the tools that would follow.
Practical Tools That Open Doors
Resources That Help Partners Understand How to Engage
Shakopee developed a Partnership Opportunities Flyer to help partners understand the spectrum of engagement options. The flyer breaks down opportunities into accessible categories — time, talent, and treasures — and clarifies what participation can look like for organizations of any size. A steering committee subgroup reviewed this tool to ensure alignment with real business partner needs.
A second critical tool is Shakopee’s data-tracking system, which academy teams use to quantify partner involvement. As shared in the transcript, partners often underreported their contributions. Business Partner Liaisons within academy teams now record experiences such as guest speaking, mentorship, industry tours, and internships. These data points support the annual Champion Impact Summary, which recognizes partners who make substantial contributions to student learning.
The district also provides reports in advance of industry council or steering committee meetings, so conversations focus on decision-making and strategy rather than information sharing.
These tools illustrate Shakopee’s belief that communication must empower action.
Students at the Center of the Story
How Student Leadership Builds Trust and Authenticity
In Shakopee, students are not symbolic participants — they are leaders. Academy Ambassadors facilitate focus groups, guide tours for visiting partners and networks, support industry council meetings, and contribute to steering committee discussions. Students are not token representatives. They receive preparation, understand agendas, and shape conversations with honesty and insight.
Shakopee students engage throughout the year in experiences including LINK Crew, internships, the Career Expo, industry tours, competitions, communication roles during the Saber Showcase, and participation in the End of Year CAPS Celebration.
Their voices deepen credibility, strengthen community pride, and ground the work in authentic student experience.
A Community That Plans Together
How Annual Events Strengthen Partnerships and Instruction
Every August, Shakopee hosts ENGAGE, an annual community planning event facilitated with the support of the Chamber of Commerce. Teachers pitch ideas for community connected learning, partners explore collaboration opportunities, and new partners are onboarded through building tours and direct conversations with academy teams.
This event embodies the Ford NGL belief that transformation succeeds when a community plans together — not in silos.
Deepening Teacher Connections
How Teacher Camp Strengthened Classroom to Career Connections
The academies also invest in strengthening teachers’ understanding of local industries. In June of 2025, Shakopee hosted a four-day summer experience that teachers enthusiastically named Teacher Camp. The week began with team-building and local history, and continued with focused learning days in hospitality and tourism, STEM, health science and human services. Teachers engaged directly with community partners, explored real workplace skills, and reflected on how to integrate those insights into their instruction. Their excitement confirmed something essential. Teachers benefit from community connected learning just as much as students do.
Teachers met with partners, participated in industry activities, and reflected on how to bring these experiences back to their curriculum. The experience reinforced the belief that teachers, like students, benefit when their learning is grounded in the real world.
Strengthening Systems for Long-Term Impact
How Shakopee Uses Schoolinks to Support Students, Partners, and Alumni
The academies use Schoolinks as the platform that holds their industry partner database, alumni contacts, student experience records, work-based learning information, event registrations, portfolio development, college applications, transcript requests, and teacher letters of recommendation. Because Schoolinks remains accessible to students after graduation, the academies can stay connected to alumni and potentially follow their postsecondary paths. Before adopting this system, much of this information lived in individual files, spreadsheets, or accounts that disappeared when staff changed roles. Consolidating the work into one platform strengthens clarity, continuity, and communication. And if tools like Schoolinks interest you, connect with us and stay tuned for a future Ford NGL network session that will take a closer look at how communities are using platforms like this to strengthen connection, data continuity, and student experience tracking.
Shakopee uses Schoolinks to streamline and connect its academy work. The platform houses:
- Industry partner database
- Alumni database
- Student experience tracking
- Work based learning opportunities
- Event scheduling
- Portfolio development
- Teacher letters of recommendation
- College application tools including access to the Common App
- Transcript requests connected to Parchment
And if tools like Schoolinks interest you, connect with us and stay tuned for a future Ford NGL network session that will take a closer look at how communities are using platforms like this to strengthen connection, data continuity, and student experience tracking.
A Living Example of Community Connected Learning
How Shakopee Embodies the Ford NGL Approach
The story of the Academies of Shakopee demonstrates the ABCs of Academy Branding and Communication in action. As part of the Ford NGL network, the district continues to grow its model through consistent language, transparent tools, deep community partnerships, and meaningful student and teacher engagement. The work is shaped by real people, real experiences, and a shared commitment to giving every student access to purposeful, community connected learning.
If this work sparks curiosity about what is possible in your own community, connect with Ford Next Generation Learning to explore the Ford NGL approach to the Career Academy model and the opportunities it can create for students, partners, and educators.
View the session recording here.
