On Dec. 7, 2017, the 2017-18 Leadership Hardin Co. class participated in Education Day, receiving a comprehensive overview of the Hardin County School system including EC3, Elizabethtown Independent Schools, and ECTC. The morning started at EC3 with an HCS overview provided by Superintendent Teresa Morgan. Mrs. Morgan discussed growth, opportunities, and challenges facing HCS. She also directed a roundtable discussion with leaders in attendance presenting perceived challenges and priorities for HCS, to which she elaborated on HCS strategies and initiatives to address. John Wright of HCS then discussed the Work Ethic Certification Program which was developed in 2013. This program focuses on soft skill development, and students can earn this distinction by demonstrating proficiency in the program’s Great 8 Standards which include Attendance & Tardiness, Personal Responsibility & Accountability, Academic Performance, Work Habits & Persistence, Punctuality, Preparedness & Organization, Respectful Interactions & Communication, Cooperation & Teamwork, and Community Service. 450 students earned this distinction in the 2016-17 school year.
After discussing the Work Ethic Certification Program, Wright led the LHC group on a tour of EC3, providing a brief overview of multiple pathways. During each tour stop, students within that pathway shared their personal experience at EC3 and discussed current projects. Pathways include Automotive Technology, Culinary Arts, Energy Management, Engineering, Health Sciences, Information Technology, Media Arts, and Welding. The group visited the Automotive Workshop where students under the direction of Mr. Pitt discussed the services that they provide and the pathway to ASE student certification. Another stop highlighted the Engineering Pathway under the direction of Jason Naegle with an overview of PLTW (Project Lead the Way) and included a visit and demonstration with the nationally and world recognized Vex Robotics team. During a visit with Information Technology, the LHC group learned about a unique partnership between students and Brandenburg Telecom, where students provide the expertise to repair select BBtel equipment, serving as an extension of their helpdesk. On this pathway, students have the opportunity to earn Microsoft certifications, learn and perform coding, develop gaming platforms, and other skill sets such as website and app development. A visit to the Health Sciences wing provided an overview of pathway offerings including Nursing, EKG Tech, and Radiology Tech. Also included on the tour, the LHC group visited the welding shop where students were hard at work but took a few minutes to show some of the custom pieces that they created. Rounding out the tour, students of the Media Arts pathway discussed their projects with HCEC-TV and other community partners.
The tour culminated with a brief visit from EC3 principal Dan Robbins who took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to discuss the growth and vision of EC3 and the need for community business partners to aid in the development of students in these pathways. The LHC group then rounded out their morning with a teambuilding exercise prior to an excellent lunch onsite prepared by the students of the Culinary Arts Pathway.
In the afternoon, the Leadership Hardin Co. Group traveled to Morningside Elementary School which is part of Elizabethtown Independent Schools. Students from grades 3, 4, and 5 presented many of the different Leadership initiatives that Principal Karla Buckingham has implemented. The third-grade students have partnered with Justin Lion’s Engineering class at Elizabethtown High School to develop a Maker Space for students. The high school students developed a 3-D model of the room with furniture to identify the best layout for MES’s Maker Space. As an EHS student expressed, “This way you only have to move the heavy furniture once.” The Maker Space allows students to be completely creative and curious and is student-driven with little input from faculty. The fourth-grade team has employed a Lighthouse group to increase leadership opportunities for their students. Using the Franklin Covey “Leader in Me” 7 habits of leadership concept the fall Lighthouse students have developed and initiated several programs. The students have a pants collection project to provide their Resource Center with more pants for students that may have accidents. The Lighthouse students have also collected close to 200 diapers and wipes for Clarity Solutions in Elizabethtown. The fifth-grade Student Technology Leadership Program has two teams that are headed to state with their technology projects. The MESsenger is a weekly Google slideshow that lists the activities and homework going in each grade. Wake Up Morningside is a bi-weekly news show wholly filmed, produced, and edited by the 5th-grade students. Check out Wake Up Morningside here: http://www.elizabethtownindschs.ky.schools.bz/4/Content2/wums.
Next, the group took a student-guided tour of Elizabethtown High School. If you are every worried about the next generation of students, go talk to the young men and women at EHS. The students are ranked in the top 20 for their average ACT score of 22.1 with 3 seniors scoring a perfect 36. These students believe that “success at EHS is as contagious as a smile.” Many of these young adults are taking multiple AP courses with some completing over 11 courses in their high school career, and graduating with close to 28 college credits! Amazing!
Finally, we ended the day at Elizabethtown Community & Technical College. The college has been actively partnering with the local high schools in not only Hardin County but surrounding counties. Mary Jo King talked about the many scholarship opportunities for our citizens and gave a tour of the Student Affairs “one-stop shop” and Allied Health. After the tour, Janay Sutton with the Family Resource and Youth Services Centers talked about their role in our K-12 schools. Previously in the day, educators had mentioned that the FRYSC counselors are the “Unsung Heroes of the School Systems.” As Janay explained, “FRYSC bridges whatever GAP a student needs to learn.” The 21 FRYSC centers provide a variety of services and resources for families and students who need our support both locally and legislatively. The Education day was a student-driven day where we were able to see the wonderful things that are happening in education through the eyes of the children of Hardin County.
Whitney Taylor
Human Resources
Elizabethtown Community & Technical College
Chris Pyles
Clinic Director/ Physical Therapist
PT Pros Physical Therapy & Sports Center
4031 North Dixie Hwy, Suite 104
Elizabethtown, KY 42701
W: (270) 982-4776