OHS’ Bluegrass Scholars impact community with projects

November 26, 2019 | 3:10 am

Updated November 25, 2019 | 11:24 pm

Bluegrass Scholars had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Wayne D. Lewis Jr., the interim commissioner of education when he visited Owensboro. | Photo contributed

Owensboro Public Schools is a District of Innovation and through this designation, Owensboro High School has offered the Bluegrass Global Scholars Program to seniors for five years. The first year, seven students took the course. This year, 21 are in the course, which will be honored with a cord to wear at OHS’ graduation.

The course requires students to complete critical reading, writing and intellectual discussion as part of a seminar held weekly, and one of the course’s goals is to teach students to think and engage in discussions, both in and out of the classroom, while relating those thoughts to global matters.

The curriculum is chosen by facilitators Libby Johnson and Monica Rice and focuses on themes of community, education and justice.

Johnson said that recently the Bluegrass Scholars, as they are often called, discussed the theories of education under the proposed question, “Why college?”

Students then explored the variety of colleges available to students for graduate work, including liberal arts, technical and other methods of obtaining a post-graduate education.

Students in the program also complete an out-of-the-classroom component where they are involved in civic projects, internships and community trips that aid in their involvement in the community and beyond.

Keiara Hagan chose a project that is very personal. Her father is a convicted felon, and has been for 20 years. Because job applications ask if the applicant is a convicted felon, and her father has to check yes, none have given him a second interview.

Hagan hopes to change this for felons by offering a spring job fair for local businesses to meet face-to-face with those looking for a job. Hagan said that soft skills are learned and a trade is pursued in jail, and most come out with an occupation they could do.

“A sentence or a charge should not define the rest of their life,” Hagan said.

She has met with Candance Brake, President and CEO of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce, who provided a list to Hagan of Chamber businesses. Hagan plans to attend a meeting to ask local businesses to send representatives from their human resources departments to participate in the spring job fair. She and Brake also discussed Owensboro Community and Technical College’s participation in working with potential applicants on soft skills through classes at OCTC.

Dylan Haire’s is the field director of the OHS band. Through his project, he and fellow band and Bluegrass Scholar student Zane Rose are revitalizing the percussion club at Foust Elementary School.

During their last period of the day, the two work on their project. They have refurbished the instruments that were already at the school and are working with Foust music teacher Dylan Glass and percussion club students once a week to bring the percussion club to fruition. The two said they hope the club will be able to perform at the OPS Fine Arts Festival in the spring and also as a pep band or halftime show at an OHS basketball game.

Olivia Miller and Ann Lawton Watson, interested in graphic design and marketing, have teamed up on their project to help Sutton Elementary School create an app for mobile devices that will allow parents, students and staff to have access to school information daily as well as have an area that will allow kids to have a place on the app to post.

Miller said that often students and parents don’t know what is being served for lunch daily and this way, it will all be available in one app. They hope to include any announcements and school portal links so that everything is available in one place. Once they have their budget approved by the OPS school board, Miller and Watson hope to involve Sutton students in the app design.

“One of the most beneficial aspects is seeing what you go through,” Johnson said of the scholars learning the process many projects take and how it doesn’t happen instantaneously.

Beyond the graduation cord, Johnson said that the program allows them to distinguish themselves in their college applications, something Lucy Swanson said worked to her favor recently when meeting with Lipscomb University officials who commented on her internship experience during the high school day.

“Having an internship is really cool as a high schooler, they thought,” Swanson said.

The scholars also had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Wayne D. Lewis Jr., the interim commissioner of education when he visited Owensboro.

Students in the program also document their process, including all correspondence, to use in their final presentations, including reflective writings on what was a success and what wasn’t.
With broad community involvement in these students’ successes, Johnson believes there are many advantages to the program.

“We are lucky the community is so willing to place our kids [in internships,]” Johnson said. “We are really trying to get them to ‘think globally, act locally.’”

November 26, 2019 | 3:10 am

Share this Article

Other articles you may like