We Are Intertwined

President's Corner

The purpose of public schooling is to prepare our future citizens to be independent and productive people. Many of our students will journey to college. Others will not. We must prepare them for both options: the world of work and college.

Many preK-12 school systems have paved the road by developing collaborations with higher education and career tech organizations. These partnerships with community colleges and four-year institutions offer students opportunities to prepare for work-based programs, an easier transition to college and the leap to a full four-year college program.

If we see our responsibility as providing the on-ramp to life, and I know we do, then developing systems that prepare our students for their future is our obligation and defines the real work of school systems. The road starts with our preK-12 learning systems and culminates with the world of work. We are a means to an end.

Being creative, flexible and, in some cases, persistent in how we partner has been successful in Baldwin. Several of our partnerships with higher education have benefited not only our students but our school district and neighboring districts as well.

In recognizing the need for future educators, we developed an education academy that offers courses aligned with college requirements. After graduating from high school, students are able to enter college as sophomores. In three years, they can finish their bachelor’s degree and be certified teachers. One additional year allows them to complete their master’s degree and attain permanent certification as a teacher. They then can return to Baldwin, their hometown, as smart, talented, dedicated educators.

We recognized that some high school seniors are ready to move on to the next stage of life and begin college. In rethinking the senior experience and to combat “senioritis,” we created a partnership with our local community college that provides seniors with a pathway for a full-time, on-campus college experience. Students experience regular college courses, not as a school within a school.

As a result, students have graduated high school with 32 or more college credits. Some have graduated with a 4.0 college GPA. In all cases, students have learned to navigate the college system, be independent and self-directed and make a successful transition to higher education.

Maximizing the potential for our students to know what they want and do not want in a post-high school experience is a responsibility we all take seriously. In addition to our college partnerships, which include dual enrollment opportunities as well as the on-campus program described, we have a deep, broad and meaningful experiential academy program that gives our students, beginning in grade 8, the opportunity to explore a variety of post-high school career options. Each of these academies includes college-level opportunities as well as hands-on experiences in the fields of law and government, medical and health sciences, media, education, fine and performing arts, STEM and engineering, and global business.

We partner with the Simon Youth Foundation and our local BOCES to bring barbering, police science and medical office assistant programs to those students who wish to pursue certificated opportunities while still at Baldwin High School.

Public school systems must broaden opportunities for students. Partnerships with higher education, industry and philanthropies are necessary in this day and age to remain current, relevant and competitive within our field.

We are no longer distinct from one another. In fact, we are intertwined in both necessity and relevance. Meeting our students where they are and developing programs around the needs of students is essential in meeting the demands placed in front of us as superintendents, educators and leaders in our communities.

Shari Camhi is AASA president in 2022-23. @BaldwinUFSD