WCS - College & Career Academy

Preparing ALL students for their life after high school.

April 19, 2023

Our local leadership in Indiana…YOUR leadership…in the area of college and career readiness was on full display this week, as educators, employers, and other community leaders came together at Ivy Tech’s Bloomington campus for Ascend Indiana’s Youth Apprenticeship Community of Practice Summer Convening. While there, I heard multiple conversations about how local Indiana communities are continuing to increase work-based learning and postsecondary credential (educational attainment!) opportunities for students. As we continue to rethink high school, your local leadership is key as the push forward continues.

One of the highlights of my visit to WHS was a stop by Mr. Matt Riney’s computer science class, where I received a lesson on the history of cybersecurity and encryption, and a demonstration from members of their First Robotics team. They also shared something that I have not yet seen in person, only on video…the past two years, Mr. Riney and students from the school’s Project Lead the Way computer science courses programmed a Christmas music and light show at the high school. You can check it out here and here. It is a true community effort and project-based learning experience, with students designing wood frames for the lights and Mayor Rhoads working with the city’s electrical crew to hang the lights.

WHS Earns STEM Certification

Created in 2015, the IDOE - STEM Certification program recognizes schools committed to teaching STEM disciplines beyond the classroom. STEM Certification exemplifies a highly innovative approach to education, employing a great deal of inquiry, project-based learning, community engagement, entrepreneurship, student-centered classrooms, integration into humanities and related arts, and out-of-school STEM activities. For secondary schools in particular, earning STEM certification requires heightened intention and coordination in terms of vision, scheduling, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

"The schools we spotlight today have demonstrated a commitment to providing high-quality, engaging STEM experiences that not only support students in developing problem-solving skills, but also prepare them for careers in emerging industries,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “As careers in STEM fields continue to drive our state’s economy, our role is to ensure every Hoosier student has access to high-quality STEM curriculum needed to meet both current and future demands.”

In partnership with SCALE & Purdue University, Washington Community School is a member of the southern cohort of schools selected to help develop and pilot a Micro-Electronics Pathway. Recently, teachers from WHS & WJHS spent a week at Purdue University to begin the process. Over the course of the next year, these teachers will implement their lessons, and next year elementary teachers will have the same opportunities. This Micro-Electronics Pathway will play a key role in getting kids interested into this very important field of study, and with the facilities coming to Crane, perhaps we can keep our talent local.

WCS will receive a STEM Integration grant from the IDOE. This grant will be used to grow the PLTW Gateway Program in WJHS. Project Lead The Way is a hands on problem based approach to education. Students are placed into a variety of settings and need to work together to create solutions. PLTW has been around for over 25 years, and WCS has a distinguished JH & HS program. Expanding the Gateway Program in the JH will allow us to provide a full time, PLTW-trained teacher. This grant will allow us the opportunity to purchase six classroom sets of Vex Robotics.

This is another competitive grant from IDOE designed to help schools grow their student capacity for Computer Science. The focus of this grant will be to ensure that teachers at the elementary levels have the resources and training to provide students with opportunities. We currently have a STEM teacher at Upper Elementary and a STEM Lab at Intermediate and Veale Elementary, whereas at Primary Elementary students are exposed to STEM throughout the year. This grant will help us double the number of Upper Elementary STEM Teachers - One for 5th Grade & One for 6th Grade and provide resources for the PLTW Launch Program. This grant will also support the expansion of materials, supplies, and professional development for K-4 teachers as they begin to get kids excited about the exciting STEM fields.

STEM Integration Specialist

Patty Allen will serve as our district's STEM Integration Specialist. In this role, Patty will coordinate the district's STEM PD and oversee the implementation of STEM learning throughout the district. She has several years of experience serving as the STEM Program Coordinator for Crane, and we are excited to be able to tap into that experience as we look to move forward with district wide STEM Certification.

In an effort to prepare the next generation of talent for Indiana's workforce, the Indiana Department of Education in connection with the State Board of Education has embarked on an effort to "redefine" high schools. The traditional "sit & get" approach works for a certain population of kids, but it doesn't reach all of them. Because all kids will one day be in a position to ask someone for a job, schools have begun to shift their focus on preparing them for that day. Whether graduates Enroll in post-secondary, become Employed right away in the work-force, Enlist in the military, or pursue Entrepreneurial interests, schools must prepare ALL students for their life after high school.

Work Begins This Year

The IDOE has released new K-12 Academic Standards for Indiana students. These new standards, which were released in early June, will be both a reduction in the academic expectations and an integration of Employability Standards. Kids at every grade level will be exposed and measured on things like Work Ethic, Self-Discipline, Perseverance, Communication, Collaboration, and others. Washington Community Schools is partnering with Equitable Education Solutions to implement a series of Micro-Credentials that will be used to capture a student's Employability Skills journey. Age appropriate lessons will be embedded into the K-8 classrooms as teachers will be trained on implementation and assessment of these Micro-Credentials. At the HS level, the focus will be on earning Industry Credentials. The College & Career Academy has already laid the ground-work. Now, it's time to work with local industry and higher education partners to develop these industry recognized certifications that will demonstrate our graduates are ready for their life after high school.

HS Field Trips & Guest Speakers

The following list is a sample of the places our HS students visited this past school year. The list also includes those that came to WHS...not including members of the Spring Internship Symposium. If you have an interest in coming into any of our buildings to share what you do, or if you're interested in letting us come visit you, please reach out to Chad Niehaus - CNiehaus@wcs.k12.in.us. We would love to show our students the amazing opportunities that exist right here in our own community.

If you are interested in partnering with us in any way, please reach out to our College & Career Academy Director, Chad Niehaus: cniehaus@wcs.k12.in.us

Email: speterson@wcs.k12.in.us
Website: https://www.washingtoncommunityschools.org/1/Content2/college-and-career-academy
Location: 608 East Walnut Street, Washington, IN, USA
Phone: (812) 254-3860
Twitter: @washhs