On Thursday morning, Iroquois High School students will cut the ribbon on a new community amphitheater designed and built by the students.
The amphitheater will provide both Iroquois High School and the surrounding neighborhood with an outdoor space for award presentations, concerts, plays, farmers markets, and spring and fall festivals. Iroquois was able to build the amphitheater after applying for and receiving a $25,000 nationwide grant from Lowe’s last year.
“The community amphitheater project is a perfect example of how JCPS couples classroom education with real-world experiences that prepare our students for postsecondary education and their future careers,” said Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens. “The students earned this award through their creativity, hard work and desire to build something that strengthens their school community and the surrounding neighborhood.”
Iroquois is one of the district’s career-theme schools, where students may earn dual college credit, articulated college credit and an industry certification while they are earning their high school diplomas.
Students participating in this project are also involved in the SkillsUSA and Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentor programs, and enrolled in the Construction Technology Program at Iroquois. Through the program, students invest time developing marketable skills in high-demand areas such as brick and block masonry, building maintenance, carpentry, architectural drafting, electrical wiring, heating and air conditioning, interior design, plumbing and welding.
Principals at three Jefferson County Public School (JCPS) District schools undergoing leadership assessments do have the capacity to lead their school’s continued improvement efforts, according to the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE). Findings of the leadership assessments conducted at Doss, Iroquois and Seneca High schools were released this morning to JCPS Superintendent Dr. Donna Hargens and the principals.
Each school has been designated as a priority school by the KDE, and the leadership assessment is part of the KDE’s ongoing review of these schools. As part of the review, the KDE Leadership Assessment Team determined that Doss Principal Marty Pollio, Iroquois Principal Clay Holbrook and Seneca Principal Kim Morales have the capacity to lead improvement interventions.
“I’m proud but not surprised that these thorough, independent assessments by the Kentucky Department of Education recognize the strong leadership and student-centered focus of Doss, Iroquois and Seneca,” Dr. Hargens said. “We appreciate the diligent work of the assessment teams, and we welcome the fresh perspective on our strengths and challenges as we continue to create an optimal learning environment for all JCPS students.”
Some highlights from the assessments include the following:
Doss High School
Iroquois High School
Seneca High School
Copies of the leadership reviews are available here.