EQUIPPING LC STUDENTS FOR LIFE AFTER GRADUATION

Just north of LaRue County, within an hour's drive, flows the Ohio River. While it curves to the left and right, contouring the northern border of Kentucky, barges transport goods up and down the waterway from one destination to the next - all with a particular port, a goal in mind.

LaRue County Schools is embarking on a similar journey for the purpose of students getting to where they need to be by the time they graduate - over a decade-long, yet purposeful path. The document guiding the journey from Preschool On College Street to Graduation from LaRue County High School has now been officially approved by the LC Board of Education: the LaRue County Schools Learner Profile.

Over a year ago, community stakeholders and LaRue County Schools staff partnered together to begin gathering feedback from the community, ultimately taking the form of a question: what skills/capabilities do graduates from LCHS need to have and how can we be sure they have them?

What began as many meetings over many months with many questions, began to take shape. The final product, approved at the August 2023 LC BOE meeting, is the result of all that work and gathered feedback from the community.

LaRue County as a community desires graduates from LaRue County Schools to be collaborative communicators, resilient problem solvers, responsible individuals, life-long learners, and engaged citizens. Each of these five identified competencies has multiple sub-points that help to define what these look like, for instance: Resilient Problem Solver - Generates ideas and takes risks to develop creative solutions.

Throughout the Fall season and the rest of the 2023-24 school year, community members will see examples of this learner profile being implemented in various classrooms throughout the district.

What is truly unique and innovative about the Learner Profile is the focus LaRue County Schools is dedicating to shaping graduates with goals beyond simply a test score. Academics are no less important, but students have an increased opportunity to be equipped as a whole child on their way to life after graduation.

Stay tuned here for more articles in Educating LaRue to see stories from classrooms where students and teachers are taking steps to enhance the wonderful teaching already happening in the classroom.