Grand Island Senior High academy model gets report card at open house

Gilbertson and other GIPS leaders discussed the “State of the Academies” at an open house Monday in Tommy Gunz Community Room.

“We know that we did the right thing by transforming our high school,” Gilbertson said.

That transformation began in 2016, when the GIPS Board of Education heard a plan for a new high school – not just a building, which had been removed from a bond issue in the fall of 2014.

GIPS Superintendent Tawana Grover had just arrived in 2016.

“They had already hired a consultant,” Grover said. “They knew that they wanted to do it. When I came, it was right at the beginning. It helped me to learn so much about our community, so much about our aspirations.”

Aspirations including graduation rates.

According to Nebraska Department of Education data, GISH’s 2017-2018 graduation rate was 84%. (The state’s was 89%.) In school year 2019-2020, GISH’s graduation percentage rose to 87%, according to NDE. (Nebraska’s was 88%.) There is no data from NDE’s Nebraska Education Profile yet available for 2021-2022.

Gilbertson credited the academy model’s learning environment for much of the growth.

“It’s the support of students within the small learning community that is really making (graduation numbers) fly,” Gilbertson said.

Part of that also entails the “engagement level,” he added. “We can meet students where they’re at and provide the experiences and opportunities that are relevant (to them).”

The academy model requires a lot of fluidity and ability to adapt, Gilbertson said.

“We’re trying to respond in an efficient manner to changes that have happened in the in the workforce—changes that have happened in the world.

“I’m talking about everything—the gamut… the political landscape, all those things that can cause turmoil for us.”

Gilbertson pointed out current inflation rates, saying that he recognizes there are students who having to work to support their families.

“We want to focus on attendance, yet we’re battling this need to work and survive to pay for food.”

Being cognizant of that has supporting the district’s mission of equity.

“We don’t want to leave a student behind and say, this student had a great internship experience, but this one fell through the cracks,” Gilbertson said.

“No. We want to make sure that that student had every opportunity to have that same experience, no matter who they are.”

The district keeps track of students’ progression through high school via an exit survey, which Gilbertson said helps keep track of how many GISH graduates are headed for college.

The number of college visits per freshman is tracked, as well as another assessment their senior year.

“We want to make sure that our students have had the opportunity to have an internship, an opportunity for a college visit,” Edwards said.

During the 2017-2018 school year, GISH’s college matriculation rate was 71%, according to NDE data. In 2019-2020, the percentage was 65%.

Since 2017-2018, arguably there has been a paradigm shift in terms of post-high school plans in the United States.

Grover has a similar impression in Grand Island’s post-high school landscape.

“Something that’s very interesting about our community is we have a great respect for (going to) college,” she said. “We also have equal respect for students that have gone on into the trades.”

Developing GISH’s academy from 2016 until today has involved the community, apparent by the makeup of the open house’s attendees.

Attendees included leaders in law enforcement, education professionals, representatives from Grand Island’s business and manufacturing sectors, students, government officials and community members, among others.

That makeup is fitting, Grover indicated.

“We had so much input on the front end about our academies,” she said. “We had our high school visioning teams, we had students involved… we had our business partners at the table.

“They (all) gave us so much input as to how we move forward, we really tried to focus in on high skill, high wage, high demand jobs for our region.”

As the economic landscape changes, so does education’s. Grover called the constant adjustments of the academy as an “iterative process.”

“(We recognized) it was going to always be evolving in order for us to stay relevant,” Grover said. “I think that is the rhythm and beat of the economy today: how are you prepared to shift and change as challenges come your way?”

“We have certainly had our challenges,” she pointed out. “Although we’ve seen gains, we’ve realized we have to pay attention to the current supports that our students need, and our staff members need.”

Feedback was welcome at the open house. Mingling among everyone was encouraged before and after the presentation and a panel question and answer session was held.

Grover said of the GISH Academy, “We’re excited about the feedback. We’re excited about continuing to cement the college, career and community continuum that we give our students.”