In a small, rural corner of southeast Ohio, something transformational is happening. The area’s public schools are powering economic and community renewal deep in Appalachia. While much has been said about America’s declining high school test scores, New Lexington schools are unlocking real opportunity for students and offering a blueprint for relevant and engaging public schools that meet the needs of local communities.
In New Lexington schools, every student is exposed early and often to hands-on learning, career exploration and real-world skills that prepare them for life after high school. On a recent visit, students proudly showcased their work — from the school farm where students manage crops and livestock, to phlebotomy labs, to an industrial kitchen. At the middle school, we visited classes infused with career exploration. The district’s new workforce development center will include a health clinic, adult education programs and other programs for students and the community.
With support from grants and local partnerships, the district built out a welding program, a fabrication lab and an electrical trades pathway by partnering with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Students now leave high school with industry-recognized credentials and apprenticeship opportunities in hand. By partnering with Genesis HealthCare System, students begin training as phlebotomists and healthcare workers before they graduate. They’re gaining experience in real hospitals while addressing workforce needs in the region. The district has also added programs ranging from drone certification to media production, with more planned around advanced manufacturing and broadband technology.
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New Lexington also focuses on well-being and addressing the needs of the whole child. Every dollar spent on these kinds of programs generates an average of $7 that goes back into the community. All students receive free breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the schools partner with local agencies to ensure adequate counselors and mental health providers. Preschool has been expanded to five days a week. There are after-school programs and services for families, and the district is employing strategies to confront the opioid crisis. And schools have added driver’s education and other programs to make sure students can get to their jobs.
FILE – New Lexington also focuses on well-being and addressing the needs of the whole child.(iStock)
The district is also making childcare affordable for teachers and staff and giving students valuable experience at the same time. The Cub Academy day care program provides affordable childcare to teachers and others in the community and gives students in the education program, where they earn college credits, the opportunity to get their clinical field experience caring for and teaching kids there.
At a time when too many young people feel disconnected from school and uncertain about their futures, New Lexington’s approach to career and technical education and career exploration is driving student engagement, providing students real ownership over their futures, ensuring student well-being and breathing new life into a rural community. It is also breaking down barriers by making CTE part of what all students experience, not some separate school that only some kids attend.
The results are impressive. During the last school year, the district’s 780 students participating in these programs earned 1,551 industry credentials connected to employment opportunities in their region. And by expanding these hands-on learning experiences that make school relevant and engaging for every student and addressing the needs of children and families, the district’s graduation rate has climbed from 78% in 2018 to 99% today. Attendance rates have increased, and the district is seeing growing enrollment as families want to be part of the amazing public education being offered.
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On our visit together, we heard directly from students on the impact New Lexington’s approach is having on their lives and futures, including a student engaged in the apprenticeship program with IBEW and a student in the media program who will graduate with an associate degree he earned while at New Lexington High School.
FILE PHOTO – There’s no secret recipe for New Lexington’s success. At the center of this work is a belief in community and relationships — that educators, unions, businesses and nonprofits can partner on programs and supports for students and families and truly make their schools the propeller of growth and opportunity for the region.(iStock)
There’s no secret recipe for New Lexington’s success. At the center of this work is a belief in community and relationships — that educators, unions, businesses and nonprofits can partner on programs and supports for students and families and truly make their schools the propeller of growth and opportunity for the region. In New Lexington, teachers are truly listened to, respected and supported. It’s why, as the president of a national teachers union and the superintendent of the district, we want to showcase this collaborative approach to CTE and community schooling that can and should be adapted across the country.
The New Lexington region has long-faced challenges similar to other rural communities’— increased poverty, an opioid addiction crisis, limited resources, barriers to post-secondary access, and workforce shortages. And only a small percentage of its students went on to complete a full four-year degree after high school. But New Lexington didn’t retreat from these challenges; everyone rolled up their sleeves to identify solutions and partnerships to reimagine public school as a way to transform the community.
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FILE – As a nation, we should be learning from what places like New Lexington are doing and using it as a blueprint to invest in this kind of powerful, purposeful public education across America.(iStock)
Educators worked with families and businesses to make sure the school was meeting the needs of the community and providing pathways to good jobs in New Lexington. The district looked at the industries in the area and the types of jobs offered in those industries and built programming around them. And this work starts early, with students as young as the third grade getting their first experiences welding (with lots of supervision!). It’s about changing perceptions — of what students can do, of what rural schools can be, and of what kind of future is possible for places like the New Lexington region and beyond.
As a nation, we should be learning from what places like New Lexington are doing and using it as a blueprint to invest in this kind of powerful, purposeful public education across America. We should be investing in the strategies that provide students multiple pathways to college or a career after high school. The hands-on, project-based learning offered in CTE schools is relevant, engaging and helps students learn to problem-solve, think critically, communicate effectively and gain real-world experience. That’s why 95 percent of CTE students graduate from high school nationwide, and 70 percent go to college. These programs give real opportunity to students, rejuvenate local economies, solve workforce shortage issues and bring communities together.
America’s future is tied to the opportunities we create for our young people. And as New Lexington proves, the route to the American dream continues to run directly through our public schools. That requires us to work together to strengthen, not abandon, public education. New Lexington offers a powerful example to follow.
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Casey Coffey is superintendent of New Lexington Schools, a public school district in southeast Ohio.
Randi Weingarten is president of the 1.8-million-member American Federation of Teachers.
BEECHER CITY, Ill. (WAND) – Farms were damaged in Effingham County Wednesday evening when a powerful storm swept through at around 8 p.m.
The McKay Farm in Beecher City was heavily damaged when the rapidly moving storm hit.
“Two buildings were totally destroyed,” Dan McKay told WAND News on Thursday. “We’ve got five grain bins and they’re all damaged.”
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The buildings collapsed onto farm equipment and a semi that were parked in the structures. A utility pole was snapped and ripped out of the ground.
In nearby Shumway, another farm was hit. A barn collapsed, with a grain bin being ripped apart and debris traveling several hundred feet through a nearby corn field. A house on the property was also damaged.
Gov. Mike Braun asked state regulators to reconsider their decision to greenlight a $71 million rate increase for AES Indiana, doubling down on his condemnation of a move that could leave Indianapolis residents with higher electrical bills for years.
Braun wrote in a June 18 news release that he had asked Indiana Utility Counselor Abby Gray, who heads the office representing ratepayers in proceedings before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, to petition for a rehearing of the AES rate case.
Gray indicated in the release that her office would submit the petition shortly. No petition had been posted on the IURC’s online docket as of this story’s publication.
The rate increase, which was approved by the IURC on June 17, was substantially less than the $192 million increase that AES initially requested. It was also less than the amount proposed in a settlement last October between AES and major electricity consumers.
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But the Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, which Gray leads, came out strongly against any increase to AES’s base rates. In September, the OUCC called for a $21 million reduction instead.
As the Republican Party grapples with rising discontent over affordability, Braun has used opposition to rising utility rates to telegraph that he’s committed to keeping costs down for Indiana residents. He signed a law in February that allows the state to make rate-setting decisions that reward or penalize utilities based on metrics including affordability.
In March, he told reporters that he would take on Indiana’s five investor-owned utilities, describing himself as the “new sheriff in town.”
And after the IURC voted 3-1 to approve the AES rate increase, he wrote in a post to X that he was “deeply disappointed.”
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Braun wrote in the June 18 news release that he had appointed Gray, a longtime OUCC lawyer and judge, to her current post because he knew she “would help me fight for Hoosiers.”
According to AES’s estimates, the rate increase will cost households an additional $5 per month for every 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity they use, beginning in July. A second hike will take effect in January.
Tilly Robinson is a Pulliam fellow for the Indianapolis Star. She can be reached at tilly.robinson@indystar.com.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) — It’s been a week since the World Cup began in Kansas City, but some local businesses aren’t feeling the expected influx in traffic and are asking for support.
On Thursday, KC2026 provided numbers for the FIFA Fan Festival and the ConnectKC26 transportation system.
From June 11 to June 16, KC2026 said more than 63,000 people attended the FIFA Fan Festival.
There are mixed results for where everyone is from:
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52% from Kansas or Missouri
33% from the United States
15% from out of the country
As of 2 p.m. on June 17, ConnectKC26 has a total of 86,540 registered passes.
Breakdown of routes from KC2026:
Stadium Direct: 57,302
Regional Direct: 17,284
Airport Direct: 11,954
As for business traffic, it depends on where you look. Some businesses in the Country Club Plaza said they’ve seen an uptick, especially on the first match day.
“We just had a really fun time with all of the fans, and I think we did a good job preparing for it,” said KC Style Haus Owner, Deserae Minor.
But many businesses are sharing their disappointment online.
‘Ghost town’
Caitlin Benedict, who owns Bisou, a European-style coffee and pastry shop, took to Instagram after shopping at a Crossroads night market.
“We are all in this together, it sucks. It was dead. It’s been dead everywhere,” said Bisou Owner, Caitlin Benedict.
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After sharing her disappointment online, she saw an uptick in business on Thursday.
“It’s nice when the community can help out, and you can back up your own hometown at the same time,” said Janet Garciga, who drove in from Lee’s Summit to visit Bisou.
People sit outside on the patio in Bisou Kansas City, after its owner asked for more support during the World Cup.(KCTV5 News)
“I don’t want them to just come to Bisou, and I don’t want it to just be for a day. I want them to go everywhere else, and I want them to support everyone else, and consistently, especially for the next month and a half while FIFA is here,” said Benedict.
She heard from businesses experiencing the same issues in Mission, other spots downtown, Kansas City, Kansas, and Overland Park.
Flags wave outside of Buffalo State Pizza in Kansas City, Missouri during the World Cup.(KCTV5 News)
Down the road in the Crossroads, Buffalo State Pizza saw fans for the French match on Tuesday.
“But after that, I mean, we even close early on Tuesday because that was, it was dead,” said Buffalo State Pizza Owner, Phillippe Lechevin.
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Shopping bags and matchas aren’t filling up at Dear Society either.
“The 10 years that I’ve been here in Kansas City. I have seen a lot of these big events coming into town, and we’ve been told to prepare and get ready for these huge crowds. And to be honest, after the NFL draft and after so many things that I’ve seen in 10 years, I didn’t do anything different,” said Dear Society Owner, Chanel Jezek. “I kind of knew. I had a feeling like we weren’t going to be as busy as they were projecting because they’ve done this to us before.”
Dear Society in Kansas City, Missouri, is described as an experiential retail concept by the owner.(KCTV5 News)
Multiple factors = slow traffic
All three, Bisou, Buffalo State Pizza, and Dear Society, said there isn’t really someone to blame, but rather multiple factors that could be part of the issues.
A lot of eateries in town added a 20% automatic gratuity to bills, Bisou and Buffalo State Pizza decided not to take part, but worry that it is keeping locals away.
Visit KC projected 650,000 visitors throughout the entire tournament, and these businesses wonder if the possibility of large crowds and no parking is also keeping residents at home.
“I think we lost a lot of the regular ones. You know, the number was shown earlier back in February, you know, the 600,000 people. People who have the option to work from home, but maybe they didn’t want to deal with the traffic, since there’s no traffic. So hopefully they’re going to come back,” said Lechevin. “People may realize, actually, you know, it’s not as crazy as it is. I can still park in my regular spot and have lunch at my regular spot without being, you know, charged an extra amount.”
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Jezek said she’d love to see KC2026 and FIFA add more locally owned businesses on their website so fans know where to find them.
“We are not seeing an increase in traffic on the streets. We are not crowded like they were predicting. You can still come in. You can still support your local businesses, your favorite coffee shops, your favorite places to grab your gifts, or whatever. We’re here. We’re slow. And there are more places to park,” said Jezek.
Benedict said it is an honor to have the World Cup here, but wants to see more honesty and support from leaders.
“I feel like it’s good for our city. It’s recognition. But at the same time, I want leadership to step in and say, okay, we didn’t get as many travelers as we should have,” said Benedict.
These businesses are hopeful that fans, locals, and other owners all come out and support these small shops throughout the metro during the World Cup and beyond.
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“I would say just keep coming and supporting us and showing up,” said Jezek.
KCTV5 reached out to Visit KC, but did not have any numbers it could share at this time.
Mayor Quinton Lucas’ office shared the statement below after this story aired on Thursday:
“While the economic impact of a global event of this magnitude will naturally vary by business and by neighborhood, Mayor Lucas is encouraged by what he is hearing from Kansas City’s entertainment and hospitality sectors. Hotels, bars, and restaurants reported strong activity as Kansas City welcomed tens of thousands of guests for the opening match. As we look toward this weekend’s games and the remainder of the tournament, we’ll continue to highlight opportunities for our visitors and residents alike to join in the fun and celebration of this one in a generation moment.”
Businesses are hopeful that the longer the World Cup goes on, the more people will show up. KCTV5 plans to check in with these businesses throughout the tournament to see if traffic picks up.
