At Ridgeview News’ request, Kelli Whytsell, School Superintendent, was asked to further elaborate on the new Pilot Program for which she spoke briefly on at the Calhoun Citizens for Accountability meeting on Tuesday evening.
If Calhoun County wants the best for our children, the Community has got to do their part to understand what’s happening inside the School and voice an opinion to those in power. It does not take a village to raise a child. You shouldn’t want someone else “raising” your child with their values and beliefs. It takes one actively concerned parent involved with the decisions in that child’s life that will affect their future. That parent should then voice their opinion to the local school board if they disagree with what’s being taught. If they agree they should support the child and the system. – Publisher’s opinion.
If you have questions or concerns about the this program or other school matters, please make them known.
THE EMPOWERMENT COLLABORATIVE MODEL
The Empowerment Collaborative model is represented through three instructional principles:
· Workplace Environments: classrooms become students’ “workplaces” to develop skills and dispositions needed in the world of work.
· Authentic Learning and Assessment: real-world problem solving is the primary approach to learning.
· Entrepreneurial Mindsets: students see personal possibilities in the world of work.
Through these principles, the Empowerment Collaborative model empowers students to understand how their interests and skills can become drivers for themselves and their communities.
More descriptive explanations:
Schools use the Workplace Environments principle to develop the skills students need to obtain, succeed, and advance throughout their education and career. Middle school students are challenged to function as CEOs, managers, safety monitors, podcasters, event planners, political advocates, and other real roles that serve real needs.
The Authentic Learning and Assessment principle challenges educators to collaborate with students, the community, and the workforce to plan projects that are rooted in the community, value local heritage and assets, and solve real problems. The students researched the career and technical pathways they were most interested in and proposed innovative classroom designs for those pathways to the school board and community. The projects engaged students with a real issue in their community and exposed them to careers that they were interested in through field trips and interviews as well as the skills involved in architecture, drafting, public advocacy, and local politics through the bond election for the proposed building. Students will be held accountable to state standards, prove their mastery of standards through portfolio development and defense, and set goals for their own growth.
The Entrepreneurial Mindset principle encourages both entrepreneurial experiences as well as the development of characteristics like persistence and risk taking. The Empowerment Collaborative model supports school systems to facilitate entrepreneurial efforts starting while students are in middle school, putting students in real contexts to support and develop workplace skills. In our district, middle school students and a teacher met with local industry and non-profits to map collective assets and identify a potential project: a tourism initiative based on the community’s uniquely dark skies. All students at the middle school collaborated with industry partners to contribute to a public event including student product vendors to bring awareness to the park while studying and applying distinct career interests to their entrepreneurial and other creations.
