By Andy Furman
NKyTribune Reporter
Dr. Stacy has seemed to have a found a cure. And he made a “house call” to tell his fellow Rotarians the good news at the Covington Rotary meeting at the Radisson Hotel last week.
Dr. Michael S. Stacy, in his ninth year as superintendent at Beechwood Independent Schools, spoke on the district’s EDGE program to his fellow Rotarians. The EDGE program, he explained, is simply Educational Designed Geared towards Experience.
Dr. Michael Stacy (Photo provided)
And he spoke of the evolution of K-12 – and higher education.
“For too long, seat time and compliance have dictated the school experience for our students,” he told the group, through his visual presentation. “In 2024, the foundations of the workforce are different than they were in ’20 – and even 10 years ago.”
Stacy said, “We can place students in experiential learning opportunities with business and industry and still maintain a strong academic environment. There are absolutely no reasons why our college-going kids can’t have the same hands-on activities throughout their day that career students have access to.”
Beechwood believes in students having rich experiences working with business, university, and community partners to help develop skills that will prepare all students for their future – college and/or career.
In his presentation, Stacy shared how Beechwood implemented a K-12 system and structured to support students developing these future-ready skills. Beechwood, he said, continues to work with over 120 business partners and six university partners on workforce development and talent retention in the region.
“The Beechwood Way,” noted Dr. Stacy is simply this: “We design teaching and learning focused on students; we build resilient learners and leaders who are fearless in the pursuit of excellence; we have a uniquely intimate community developing globally competitive students.”
And he added, that all students will become globally competitive leaners and leaders to be successful in their post-secondary lives by developing these core concepts:
Think Critically and Creatively
Reflect and Grow
Sustain Inquiry
Communicate and Collaborate
Plan and be Strategic
Pursue Excellence of Outcomes
Research and Analyze Data
As for Beechwood graduates, Stacy was proud to note that “95 percent of graduates move on to postsecondary education; and 64 percent of seniors are in an internship during the school day.”
And 100 percent of Beechwood students engage in work with business/university/Community partners – and the same number of Beechwood students complete Defenses of Learning.
What skills are needed in 2025?
Dr. Stacy was quick with the answer:
Communication
Collaboration
Critical Thought
Self-Reflection
Strategic Planning
Excellence of outcomes
Data literacy
Leadership
The assembled group was impressed.
Dr. Stacy’s “operation” was successful.
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