Eminence Independent School District

Website: https://www.eminence.kyschools.us/

Buddy Berry, Superintendent, buddy.berry@eminence.kyschools.us

School Demographics:

• Grades Served: PK-12

• Enrollment: 

  • PK-12: 920

  • Grades 6-12: 496

• Race/Ethnicity: 77% White, 10% Hispanic/Latino, 7% Two or more races, 6% Other

• Free/Reduced Price Lunch: 56%

• Homeless: 6%

• English Learners: 2%

• Students with Disabilities: 15%

Watch: Sustaining a Schoolwide Culture of Playful Learning (4:19) and other Edutopia videos

Read: 2023 Kentucky Teacher of the Year Visits Eminence Independent, the land of learning, creation and innovation 

In 2012 Eminence Independent School District ignited its School on FIRE model, from PK to 12. Envisioning the DisneyWorld of schools, the School on FIRE model is designed to develop world-class students and empower them to be risk-takers, collaborators, communicators, leaders, and visionaries. These outcomes are expressed in the Eminence Exemplars, the district’s version of a graduate portrait, which have been built out into grade-level standards across all grades, PK-12. With a STEAM approach, their learning model embraces experiential learning using advanced science, emerging technologies, applied engineering skills, and artistic design. Classroom experiences are designed to capture the heart and imagination of students, driven by the tenets of ‘Surprise & Delight’ and ‘Yes, And’ thinking! The Edhub is a multimedia, tech-enabled, play-based learning space in the school building shared by elementary, middle, and high school students and staff. Learning Excursion participants will see students actively engaged in learning by moving, creating, and doing; they will see student work everywhere they look; and they will see teachers creating meaningful moments of both joy and productive struggle. Participants will also explore the school’s personalized, passion-based approach through elements like standards-based grading and micro-credentials; panel defenses in 5th, 8th, and 12th grade; seasonal rites of passage; a design thinking curriculum; and the role of dispositional hiring.

STEAM Academy, Fayette County Public Schools

Website: https://steam.fcps.net/

Chris Flores, Principal, christopher.flores@fayette.kyschools.us

School Demographics:

• Grades Served: 9-12

• Enrollment: 440

• Race/Ethnicity: 53% White, 28% African American, 12% Hispanic/Latino, 8% Other

• Free/Reduced Price Lunch: 36%

• English Learners: 1%

• Students with Disabilities: 3%

Watch: What Is STEAM Academy? video produced by students (6:17)

Located in Lexington, Kentucky, STEAM Academy is reimagining what high school can be. A lottery-driven open enrollment school within Fayette County Public Schools, STEAM Academy is an environment of opportunity and innovation where creativity, student voice, internships, and inquiry are at the center of teaching and learning. The most important element of the school’s model is its culture of collaboration, inclusion, risk-taking, and high expectations—and that’s for teachers and students both. Grounded in project-based learning emphasizing STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math), teachers design projects that not only address course content but also foster the school’s STEAM Habits, a set of six skills similar to those in a graduate portrait. The school embraces a mastery-based approach within a semester-based course schedule and a traditional grading structure. This allows students to move at a pace that works best for them while also creating space for them to complete internships and dual credit opportunities. Sophomore defenses of learning, framed around the STEAM Habits, serve as a gateway to that real-world learning that includes research- and work-based internships and dual credit coursework with the University of Kentucky and Bluegrass Community & Technical College. Learning Excursion participants will see student engagement in classes, explore the interdisciplinary nature of STEAM projects, and learn about student-centered practices like J-term—a week of experiential courses—and the role (but not the requirement) of makerspaces, a recording studio, and collaboration spaces that support the learning model. Participants will also learn how the school builds a master schedule in service of individual students’ learning goals and needs.