Did you study law and justice in high school? Or biomedical sciences? Engineering? Students interested in pursuing those careers are doing just that at Elkhorn Crossing School in Georgetown. Their ECS peers are taking concentrated courses in health science or one of two divisions of media arts. These six “villages” are offered in half-day programs for 800 students at this high school that opened in 2010. The ninth- through 12th graders who attend ECS in the morning return to their own Scott County high school in the afternoon, and vice versa.
Principal Michelle Nichols calls it a “hands-on rigorous learning environment.” Each village has three teachers who integrate core academic courses, such as math and English, with career-based content. AP course options are also available.
“Integration at ECS means that we address issues that are found in the real world — in teams, studying questions and themes that cut across academic disciplines,” Nichols said.
Originally from Woodford County, Nichols went to the University of Kentucky for a business degree with an emphasis in marketing, and a master’s in business marketing and education. She has a second master’s degree and educational certification from EKU.
“One of the biggest things we hear frequently is that students in general are graduating without the necessary job skills they need,” she said. “Our students graduate with the ability to think critically, communicate effectively, problem-solve and work as productive team members and citizens of our community.”
Work ethic is another soft skill being taught at Elkhorn Crossing School, along with articulation and presentation skills, writing mechanics, learning how to greet people and shake hands, and how to dress professionally.
Helping out the school’s 19 faculty members and additional support staff are business professionals and industry leaders. Anyone from the central Kentucky business community is welcome to volunteer, a little or a lot, in terms of time and expertise.
“Advisory members attend semi-annual advisory dinners and meetings at ECS, participate as judges for student presentations, volunteer time as guest lecturers, mentor students throughout the year and provide work-based learning experiences for students,” Nichols said. On the flip side, ECS faculty members help out the local business community by serving on committees of the Georgetown-Scott County Chamber of Commerce.
“We actively seek involvement of business owners to work one-on-one with our students,” Nichols said. “We very much rely on the experience of industry professionals to ensure we are providing students with real-world, industry-standard skills and knowledge.”
Johnna Scogin is the media arts instructor. She has a background in media, print in particular, and taught English at Scott County Ninth Grade School prior to joining the ECS faculty in 2012.
“This job pulled together everything I loved,” she said.
This school year she has moved from the “Introduction to Media Arts” village, which has six classes of freshmen, to teaching in the “Media Arts” village. The introductory topics include news broadcasting, film, photography, graphic design and video game development. The younger students “get a taste of as many areas as possible of media arts,” according to Scogin.
Even in their first year, students begin developing a portfolio and then give presentations in front of professionals in the field.
“They are scored based on presentation skills and 21st-century soft skills,” she said. “We expect the students to achieve at very high levels and in turn they do.”
After their freshman year, students in the “Media Arts” village have a video-focused program, taking Scogin’s classes in video studio fundamentals, studio directing and performance and advanced studio production.
“Students love being there,” she said. “They want to be there; they like being challenged to be their best. They like having adults who treat them like they’re capable of accomplishing more than they’re typically expected to accomplish by another person.”
While students in the “Law and Justice” village take English and social studies as their core academic classes, “Media Arts” village students take English and science.
“I want students to be prepared for real jobs in the real world,” Scogin said. “I want them to have a deep understanding of our content and the breadth of it, so they have a variety of skills that makes them a more desirable employee when they get out into the workforce.”
“When I look at what we are doing at ECS and how we teach students through hands-on project-based experiences, it is what I believe education should be for our students,” Nichols said. “It is exciting to see how much students love coming here. They’re excited about school.”
To learn more about Elkhorn Crossing Schools, visit www.scott.kyschools.us/20/home.