Western Academy director McKissic wants to raise scholars in the city

August 12, 2021 | 12:09 am

Updated August 12, 2021 | 3:13 am

Photo by Josh Kelly

Olga McKissic has a special attachment with Western Academy, the local program aimed to encourage, empower and educate young African American men to excel. Even before her heart was in the program, McKissic’s aunts and uncles attended the program’s namesake: Western High School, a segregated school in the early 1900s.

Now serving as the executive director of the program after stepping down from the same position at the H.L. Neblett Community Center, she is excited to be able to focus more intensely on the Academy.

The Academy exists to motivate young African American students in 3rd through 8th grade to have high scores and grades in their education and also showcase them a world of opportunities. To do so, McKissic invites speakers they call “power story speakers” that are often African American men who have been successful in Owensboro and beyond.

“We want to [incentivize] them that if you do well, if your GPA stays up to a certain point, then we will take you and reward you with trips around this country, and eventually around the world,” McKissic said.

The program begins at 3rd grade, as that is the age that standardized testing begins. McKissic noticed that kids at the Neblett Center were scoring in the apprentice and novice ranges, and she wanted to try her best to fix it as early as possible.

This summer, McKissic took the summer program to Dream Riders of Kentucky to expose the scholars to something they had never seen before, another main part of the program. Through the partnership, the scholars got to know the horses and learned how to treat the animals.

As for the next 5 years, McKissic sees the program establishing a brick-and-mortar building for the scholars and having a deeper partnership with the local schools. She also plans to grow the Academy and eventually open it to become a full 12-year program, like the namesake.

“Calling this Western Academy is continuing to pull back from where our foundation was laid, and being able to build on that foundation not only through the name but through these core of kids that started this program,” McKissic said.

McKissic said there are several scholars that graduated from Western High School and she intends to continue that legacy with Western Academy.

“I love kids. I love to help them in succeeding. I love opening their eyes to different things. I love them getting together and seeing all that they can be,” McKissic said. “So that’s why my heart is not only with the Neblett Center … but it is also with Western Academy and seeing these kids achieve, and feel good about themselves in that achievement.”

To join, registration is open from Aug. 30 to Sept. 18. A kick-off celebration is set for Sept. 25 and the program will begin in October.

August 12, 2021 | 12:09 am

Share this Article

Other articles you may like