A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Carrollton, Gallatin among iLEAD Academies chosen for Kentucky School Board Association PEAK Award


The Kentucky School Boards Association will present Carroll, Gallatin, Henry, Owen and Trimble county school district officials with the Public Education Achieves in Kentucky (PEAK) Award at 9 a.m. today, at the iLEAD Academy in Carrollton. The award ceremony will be preceded by a tour of iLEAD Academy.

The PEAK Award, given twice yearly, was established in 1997 to focus statewide attention on outstanding public school efforts that enhance student learning skills and promote the positive impact of public elementary and secondary education in Kentucky.

About four and a half years ago, the superintendents from the Carroll, Gallatin, Henry, Owen and Trimble school districts joined together to ask, “How can we do more together as five small, rural districts than we can alone?”

Along with the staff at the Ohio Valley Educational Cooperative (OVEC), they began asking students what they wanted out of their education. From those discussions iLEAD Academy, a regional high school serving students from the five county school systems, was born. It’s designed to give students relevant learning, access, opportunity and employability.

“Great board and district collaboration! Increasing access and opportunity for all students across district lines – marvelous work,” wrote Erlanger-Elsmere Superintendent Dr. Kathy Burkhardt, who was a PEAK judge.

Each of the five districts contributes equally to iLEAD’s operation – $75,000 during each of the first two years. The amount increased to $95,000 each for 2017-18 due to the expansion of the school. iLEAD also received $250,000 from the Kentucky General Assembly in the 2014 state budget and has received contributions from others, including AT&T, R.J. Durr Foundation and Verizon.

“I’m impressed that five small rural counties could come together to fight poverty and low educational attainment. To go outside the traditional classroom and involve outside organizations for financial assistance,” wrote PEAK judge Mona Vice, chairwoman of the Nicholas County school board and member of KSBA’s board of directors.

Each year, each district can send nine students to iLEAD’s freshman class. iLEAD, which currently has 33 juniors, 27 sophomores and 39 freshmen, has a capacity of 180 students.

“The students that are juniors now, they really helped us pioneer this idea that we had and gave us feedback around the curriculum platforms that we’re using and things that worked and things that didn’t work. I think we’ve tried to listen to them and make adjustments that needed to be made and we’re continuing to do that,” Stafford said.

According to iLEAD Academy’s PEAK Award nomination, “students apply for admission to iLEAD. There is not an academic admissions standard. Students are selected who demonstrate capacity to manage their own learning and focus on career goals.”

Each student remains a student of record at their home district.

“It has exceeded my expectations for Owen County to have that many students applying to go and staying there as students. It has been a good initiative for our district,” said Owen County Schools Superintendent Robert Stafford.

iLEAD Academy director/teacher Larisa McKinney and iLEAD teachers Jessica Crenshaw and Jenna Gray wrote in a letter that iLEAD doesn’t spoon-feed student instruction “with cookie-cutter expectations,” but instead “boasts a nontraditional atmosphere designed specifically with each individual student in mind.”

iLEAD’s flexible structure, the teachers wrote, “allows for rich workshop time, collaboration between students and teachers. This environment refines life skills such as time management and personal responsibility.”

Students take core academic courses online and progress at their own pace to college readiness in two years. iLEAD’s freshmen are able to take classes in the local area technology center to help determine a career pathway. The students receive career counseling beginning in ninth grade and are exposed to learning opportunities outside the school through trips during the school year.

“The structure and unique opportunities offered at iLEAD create a catalyst for deep discussions and brainstorming concerning life and career choices,” the iLEAD teachers wrote.

The goal of iLEAD is to graduate its students with a high school diploma and an associate degree from Jefferson Community and Technical College. Of the 33 juniors at iLEAD, 31 are enrolled as college students at JCTC.

Students visit several higher education campuses in the state where they can explore future college major options, including health care and engineering. iLEAD hired a student advocate to help students map out how to transfer the associate degree into a bachelor’s degree.

Owen County school board member Neese Chilton has a daughter who is a junior at iLEAD Academy.

“I am overwhelmed at the opportunities she has been provided,” Chilton wrote in a letter for the PEAK nomination. “iLEAD gives kids the opportunity to learn, on a daily basis, things beyond a normal high school experience. iLEAD is preparing the students to be leaders.”

KSBA


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