How do you get students excited about learning? How do you let them choose to learn the things that get them excited?
That is the goal of Scottsbluff Public Schools’ Wall-to-Wall Career Academy model that will include six career academies. As students progress through middle school and their freshman and sophomore years, they will be provided with instruction and experiences that will help them determine areas that interest them. Then, as juniors and seniors, they will select and refine their focus in Foundational Academies.
Scottsbluff is connecting students to their interests, allowing them to explore their strengths, and introducing them to college and career opportunities like internships, apprenticeships, and work experiences.
“We want people to know that a diploma from Scottsbluff High School has meaning,” says Assistant Principal Justin Shaddick. He believes students are graduating ready to pursue college and careers equipped with skills and mindsets necessary to succeed in the workforce.
Scottsbluff has been operating as a career academy for the past two years and the students say learning through hands-on activities like building houses or creating their own computer applications really works.
“They tricked us into doing math in this course. You don’t realize how much math you’ll need for these projects until you get into them. But it made math real for us,” said one student.
While these activities are fun and engaging, more importantly, they allow Scottsbluff’s students to experience real jobs where they will apply the skills and lessons from their classroom.
More information on the Scottsbluff Innovation Grant can be found here. https://www.education.ne.gov/pmo/innovation-grant/