Ford NGL is the NNT (next new thing)

Sandra ClarkOpinion

Get ready for the next new thing.

Who knew the Ford Motor Company had an education initiative? But why not? Everybody else does. Chris Whittle. Michael Milken. Bill Gates. It seems that anyone who attended high school is an expert on school reform.

So, on Wednesday, two very sincere educators – Jane Heiple and Donna Gilley – presented Ford Next Generation Learning to the Knox County school board. Some members already knew about the program. Vice chair Virginia Babb, for instance, had visited a NGL school in Nashville.

You can view the presentation here. It sparked excitement from both Daniel Watson and Mike McMillan, board members who don’t agree on much. McMillan said if the program doesn’t lead students to the career they want, perhaps it will at least show them the career they don’t want.

Consultants’ initial visits here were funded by the Knox Education Foundation. And the BOE will be asked to vote in August to continue phases two and three.

Phase I: During the first five months of 2021, Ford NGL conducted virtual visits with dozens of stakeholders, including teachers, students, families, school district leaders and business and community leaders, school spokesperson Josh Flory said in a release. He called NGL “a nationally recognized organization that leverages the power of community partnerships to prepare students for post-secondary success in both college and careers.”

The model would create career-focused academies within high schools. Jon Rysewyk, now an assistant superintendent and chief academic officer for Knox County Schools, developed a similar program as principal of Fulton High School (2008-12). Fulton has continued academies, I believe, and Hardin Valley Academy was built on this model.

Here’s how Flory says it: “Schools that implement the Ford NGL model combine the high expectations and academic rigor of college preparatory academic programs with the real-world relevance and rigor of career and technical education through the establishment of interest- and career-themed academies. Students in participating schools choose a career pathway focus from a variety of industry sectors that drive economic growth in their communities. Student courses and experiences are then framed through these pathways to support the development of knowledge and in-demand skills that will support them in being successful post-graduation as they continue their education and training or enter the workforce.”

Dadgum it. Knox County Schools had a stellar vocational component until the previous next new thing under then-Superintendent Jim McIntyre effectively dismantled it. With excessive emphasis on test scores, principals cut vocational teachers and programs like the innovative office management program of Tommye Sue McGinnis and Dale Vineyard at Halls High School and driver’s education pretty much everywhere.

So, get ready for the next new thing. Parents, kids and other “stakeholders” will be called to meetings to chat about how Next Generation Learning will look in Knox County. (Spoiler alert: it will look a lot like it looks in Nashville and Louisville and Battle Creek.)

Sandra Clark is editor/CEO of Knox TN Today.

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