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Madison Central:<br />
Bridging Education<br />
and the Workforce<br />
Audrey Guynes<br />
Madison Central High School proudly hosts two academies that are<br />
fostering the future of education, using hometown networking to<br />
strengthen transferable and work force ready skills in our local community<br />
and economy. The Academy of Engineering and the Academy of<br />
Multimedia and Communications both offer unique opportunities for<br />
students to work hands-on in the classroom, as well as outside the<br />
classroom, with the help of dedicated professionals in the fields providing<br />
job shadowing, internships, and externships.<br />
The Academy of Engineering is structured around Project Lead the<br />
Way, a nationally recognized project-based engineering curriculum. The<br />
PLTW curriculum provides the students insight into how their assignments<br />
in the classroom have relevance to real-world scenarios. To achieve<br />
this model, a cohort of teachers ensure that their classrooms reflect the<br />
academy’s lessons. This collaboration enables the student to maximize<br />
their education, receiving industry certifications and college credit, while<br />
maintaining a diverse range of classes. Students that complete the PLTW<br />
engineering courses, and pass the PLTW exam and at least two advanced<br />
placement exams, achieve the AP + PLTW Student Recognition, further<br />
enhancing their resumes for college entrance. Madison Central has had<br />
several students achieve this recognition since 2015.<br />
The Academy of Multimedia and Communications is a mixed<br />
media program where students choose between the pathways of video<br />
production, broadcast journalism, or sports marketing. These can be<br />
taken in conjunction with one another, but video production is known<br />
as the core of AMC as all are required to take it. The students, similar to<br />
the engineering academy, go through their coursework in a cohort. This<br />
allows the students to focus on their projects including the Jaguar News<br />
Network, preparing for film festival, and the various sport hype videos.<br />
If you have ever seen a football hype video from Madison Central, you<br />
have seen the work of the AMC students.<br />
It takes a collective effort. Each academy has its own advisory board<br />
consisting of students, parents, teachers, and business-leaders that provide<br />
input to keep the curriculum current with business needs and trends.<br />
The network of support is what keeps much of this program running<br />
and students interested. With businesses willing to participate in hosting<br />
students, Madison Central is able to train the next generation for the work<br />
force. This is a key initiative enforced in the academies for the students to<br />
improve upon their technological and employability skills. Undoubtedly,<br />
this will shape the students into future workers and gain an understanding<br />
of what our area has to offer.<br />
Laura Beth Guynes, a fellow graduate of Madison Central and<br />
work-based learning coordinator, plays a crucial role in bridging the gap<br />
between education and the workforce. She works to connect the students<br />
and educators with the local businesses. Students either gain employment<br />
or internship programs through this program. Guynes extends into both<br />
academies, ensuring their work-based learning experiences are aligned<br />
with their curriculum. “This is an experience that will not only prepare<br />
them for the workforce, but that will also encourage those same students<br />
to return home, continuing to contribute to the prosperity of our<br />
community,” Guynes said. Through her work, students have found<br />
internships through the MS Public Broadcasting, Madison County<br />
Library, local design consultants, Neel Schaffer Engineering, Nissan,<br />
Power Source, and Kiser Engineering to name a few. Several of the<br />
stakeholders are former graduates and parents to which they are credited<br />
to the success of the academies.<br />
The academy programs at Madison Central High School foster not<br />
only the development of students’ technical skills but will also pair them<br />
with our local firms and businesses to gain real world experience in their<br />
chosen fields. With the continuous support of our community, students<br />
are able to gain invaluable experience in their chosen fields and by forging<br />
strong partnerships with local businesses, Madison Central is able to<br />
provide work-based learning for the students to thrive.<br />
If you are a company interested in partnering with Madison County<br />
Schools to participate in the internship program, please contact Mrs.<br />
Guynes via email – wbl@madison-schools.com.<br />
Hometown MADISON • 75
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