This has been an incredible year for Isle of Wight County Schools. That's probably an understatement. It's been amazing, accomplished, exciting, awesome, and ground-breaking (literally). Several construction projects were completed this year as part of our commitment to redesigning our Career and Technology Education programs. In October, we officially opened the new JROTC Fieldhouse at Smithfield High School. This is the first space that was specifically designed to provide the award winning Packer Battalion with the room they need to conduct drill practice and other activities inside. In December, we held a ribbon cutting ceremony for our new classroom building and barn at the Land Lab. Students in the agriculture program now have the facilities to better care for animals, and to continue their learning about plant and animal management regardless of weather. In March, we formally opened the Career Building at Smithfield High School. This heavily renovated space is now home to Nursing, Welding, Engineering and a Mechatronics Lab, Manufacturing and the MakerSpace, and Culinary Arts, which includes the student-run, on-site restaurant Turner and 10.
Now, we are extending an invitation to the community to see the facilities and hear about the different programs from the students. We are holding two Community Open House events--one is May 8 at the Agricultural Land Lab, and the other is May 15 at the Career Building and JROTC Fieldhouse at Smithfield High. Both are from 5:00--6:30. We encourage you to stop by and check out the work of our students and see how they are gaining the skills and knowledge in demand by business and industry.
The teachers and students are looking forward to showing you their new spaces and sharing with you the amazing work they are able to accomplish. I hope you will be able to join us at the Open House events on May 8 and May 15. You will leave with an entirely different opinion of what school can be.
December 5 was a memorable day. Not just because of the snow we saw in Isle of Wight County, but because we hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new barn and classroom building at the Land Lab. I was unfortunately under the weather and on doctor's orders for bed rest. It was incredibly difficult to not be there, but I'm extremely proud of everyone involved for putting together an outstanding event.
The ceremony took place inside of the barn, complete with stalls of goats and piglets, and even some boxes of rabbits. The event included remarks from our School Board Chairman, Vicky Hulick, and the Vice-Chairman for the Board of Supervisors, William McCarty. Gracie Owney, a senior from Smithfield High and a student in the Agriculture program, also spoke to the guests about what the program means to her. Mike Lombardo, our Assistant Superintendent, shared the following on my behalf:
Three years ago the division embarked on an ambitious
journey to redesign the CTE program to better meet the needs of our
students. The Agriculture program has
been a part of the IWCS curriculum for decades, but we knew it needed to be
updated. In the 2016-2018 school year,
we established a working farm (Land
Lab) to expand the existing agricultural program. The land lab was constructed
on existing division property behind Windsor Elementary School. We hired a full-time farm manager for the
Land Lab. The farm manager and agriculture
teacher collaborate to provide authentic real-world learning in the areas of
agricultural business management and mechanization, along with plant, animal,
and soil science. Since opening in September of 2017, the students have
transformed the Land Lab from six acres of uncut grass, to four fenced
pastures, a vegetable garden, and housing for chickens, rabbits, goats, and, as
of yesterday, pigs. Students receive real world experiences through the Land
Lab, such as participation in “farm to table” marketing from the sale of farm
products to the public and to the division’s culinary arts program. The
lab has welcomed groups of elementary students as teachers introduce science
standards in their classes. The working farm has made agriculture come to
life for students throughout the division. And now we have these two
beautiful buildings to further enhance learning opportunities for our students.
The strides we
have made with this program, many of our CTE programs, would not have been
possible without the support and involvement of several key people and groups. The Isle of Wight County School Board had the courage and foresight to see the
need for a redesign our CTE program. The Board of Supervisors listened to our
proposal and publicly supported our vision for our schools with 7.9 million
dollar investment. Our Farm Manager,
Daniel Judkins, and Agriculture teacher, Jason Brittle, and the leadership at
our two high schools, Principal Laura Sullivan from Windsor High and Zachary
Haney from Smithfield High. We emphasize
the importance of collaboration with our students. The success of our new
CTE model would not have been possible without this collaboration and I wanted
to acknowledge their contributions this morning.
All of the speakers, along with Jason Brittle, Daniel Judkins, Zachary Haney and Laura Sullivan, joined together to cut the blue ribbon, officially opening the barn and classroom building for use. As guests toured the facilities, they were able to enjoy refreshments provided by the IWCS Culinary Arts students and instructor Kyle Cousins.
This was really a milestone for our CTE program. We are redesigning our courses to provide students with authentic learning experiences. In order to meet that goal, we have to include facilities that realistically simulate those work environments. These new buildings at the Land Lab do just that and continue to support our vision of ensuring students are college, career and life ready.
I encourage you to click on the link below to watch a video of pictures from the event.
