Panel of speakers

Engaging students is key goal for companies

Dec. 15, 2023—Jimmy Smith is a former teacher turned Operating Principal of the realty company Keller Williams Louisville. On some days, he reverts to his days as a teacher when he visits and speaks to students in the Management & Entrepreneurship pathway at Seneca High School.

Smith was one of the panelists at an event put on by Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) and KentuckianaWorks that was attended by more than 80 representatives from companies who partner with the Academies of Louisville.  These partners help bridge the gap between the classroom and careers by being guest speakers, hosting tours of their workplaces, and providing students with real-world problems to solve.  They also serve as mentors and supervisors for the students they hire for internships and co-ops. 

“Students ask ‘why are we doing this?’ – it comes up all the time,” Smith told his fellow business leaders. “So, communicating that message along with the skills to answer that question is important to them and to us as a company. We need to explain the outcome we want and how to get there (to students).”

Academies of Louisville have more than 200 partners who understand the community benefit that comes from connecting students to professionals in a variety of careers during their high school years.  Students who interact with professional working adults other than their classroom teacher on a regular basis are more familiar with the workplace and better prepared to step into a career or postsecondary education when they graduate. Each partner participates in at least 2 activities each school year and sits on a school’s Advisory Board that helps design and deliver career pathway curriculum.

Attendees sitting and listeningThe December event is one of two held each year giving partners the opportunity to connect to each other as well as school and Academies staff so that everyone can learn how they can develop a mutually beneficial relationship with students.

December’s agenda focused on “How to Keep Students Engaged”. Crystal Cornelison, a business teacher at Marion C. Moore High School told the business leaders “bring us your problems”. Cornelison says her seniors still talk about helping a Moore business partner create and market a new product a couple of years ago.

“They got excited and had something they could show off and take with them,” Cornelison said.

Another JCPS Academies leader encouraged the companies to invite their students on tours. Giving students a look behind the scenes or an internship provides an opportunity to see that what they’ve learned in the classroom can help them succeed in a real-world setting.

By Mark Hebert