FLEMING COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — When you walk through the doors of Fleming County High School, it looks like any other high school: There are classrooms, a gym and a cafeteria.
The biggest difference? We have a nursing floor, a student-run restaurant, an auto repair shop and a welding company, all facilities that prepare students for their futures.
It’s called the Enterprise Education Program. It was first introduced in 2017 after the school was unable to purchase supplies. With a $15 million grant, the school underwent a major renovation, and that’s where the Enterprise Education Program came in.
The program has 13 career pathways and nine student-run enterprises, all based within the school.
The target companies are as follows:
– Panther Bistro: A student-run restaurant that opens to the public on Thursday.
– Apparel: A shop selling student-created spirit wear and other items.
– Welding: Create signs and other items for schools and community members.
– Flowers: Create arrangements and bouquets for students, the school, and the community.
– Greenhouse: Sell vegetables to Hidden Mills and rent ferns.
– Automotive: Covers basic car accessories, oil changes, tire rotations, and more.
– Dog Grooming: Basic Grooming
– Egg Subscription: Sell eggs
Each project is taught by a specialized teacher, so students get the math, science and English lessons they need.
“My students have always been dopey in math class, but now they know they’re going to need it on the job one, two, three or five years from now after they graduate from high school. They pay more attention and want to learn,” explains Bobby Pease, math and agriculture teacher at Fleming County High School. “They also learn the leadership part while running the shop (welding). In fact, when I’m not there, a substitute teacher gets the students to push the crew.”
It’s not just the schools that are helping students – the local community is pitching in to help too.
Principal Austin Hart explains that the equipment used by the student-run Panther Bank was donated by a local bank, and is fully functional for student use on campus, and teachers can even use it to invest in vacation funds.
The overall goal of these courses is for students to be able to operate a fully functioning business immediately after graduating from high school.
Peace stresses that students should know that attending a four-year college isn’t a requirement — they can always choose a different path and be just as successful.
“I think it makes me want to go to school. I really enjoy school and I really enjoy getting up and coming to school every day. I don’t have anything bad to say about the school,” said Branson Hawkins, a sophomore welder at Fleming High School.
Starting as early as their first year, and sometimes as early as their second year, students choose a pathway they are interested in. Within that pathway, students choose a career or a student-run enterprise within that pathway.
Each year, students are promoted as their skills improve, and by their final year, most students are running their own companies.
“It’s a little weird this year because we have a lot of projects, so it’s more responsibility. It’s the entrepreneurial spirit, talking to people who just graduated high school and finding out what they’re doing,” explained Clayton Waymire, a senior and supervisor with the welding company.
“If they have a purpose for being here, they have a purpose for doing well in their subject classes because if they don’t, they’re going to be taken out of the class. If they like what they’re doing at school, they’re going to have a good experience overall,” Hart said.
Hart also talked about interdisciplinary education, a new program that allows students to learn through different disciplines. For example, a freshman might do an archaeological dig in social studies class and carbon dating in science class. Then they might learn linear equations about cost-benefit in math class. Finally, they write a research paper in English about the dig.
Vibrant and authentic learning is a big focus at Fleming County High School this year and beyond.
