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Edgewood Schools tells Monroe County commissioners it is expanding STEM, micro-credentialing and a preschool–career pipeline
Summary
Edgewood Schools presented its high-reliability schools work, expansion of Project Lead The Way and micro-credentialing across grades 3–12, student-run businesses including a Coffee Corral, a new preschool/daycare plan and a proposed pipeline with local biomedical employers.
Edgewood Schools Superintendent Jerry Sanders told the Monroe County Board of Commissioners on Monday that the district has embedded STEM and employability skills into regular instruction, expanded career pathways to 17 (exceeding a 2024 goal of 15) and is piloting micro-credentialing for students in grades 3–12.
The presentation, delivered by Sanders and district staff and attended by county commissioners and county staff, summarized work the district funded in part by county support, described planned partnerships with local biomedical employers and outlined a standalone preschool and daycare that will also serve as an apprenticeship site for Edgewood students pursuing early childhood credentials.
Why it matters: The district said the work aims to keep graduates in Monroe County by preparing them for local employers and handing students measurable certifications and college credits. Commissioners provide recurring funding to the district; district leaders framed the work as both an educational and local economic development strategy.
Sanders said Edgewood is pursuing High Reliability Schools (HRS) certification beginning at level 1, a process he described as “digging deep, pulling back the curtain, looking at our processes” and letting teachers lead improvement. “Our teachers are really starting to take the reins of this process. They’re the ones digging deeper,” Sanders said.
District staff outlined several program components: continued use and expansion of Project Lead The Way (PLTW) across STEM courses; student-run enterprises such as the Coffee Corral (the district reported about $30,000 in sales this year and roughly $18,000 on hand); an Innovative Learning Center (ILC) with internships and student design services; and an Edge Media/design/entrepreneurship pathway. Sanders said Edgewood is an ICC (Indiana College Core) school, enabling students to earn up to 30 college credits usable at Indiana public universities.
The district plans to begin micro-credentialing that measures both technical and employability skills from grades 3 through 12 and to store students’ work in a portfolio they can carry to postsecondary education or job applications. “It’s gonna look a little different for a third grader than it is an eighth grader, but…we’re gonna credential you for that,” said a district coach.
Sanders and staff also described construction of a standalone preschool with an on-site daycare primarily intended to help recruit and retain staff; the plan would give high school students in the district’s early childhood pathway an apprenticeship site where they can complete capstone work and state-aligned credentials. The district said current preschool enrollment is about 100 children with a waiting list about twice that size.
On workforce alignment, Sanders said Edgewood has held meetings with local biomedical employers including Cook Medical, Boston Scientific and IU Health to design a training pipeline that could train juniors and seniors in high school for hard-to-fill entry positions. Sanders said district staff will visit a Boston Scientific training lab the day after the presentation to inform design work.
Commissioners and county economic development leaders praised the approach. Jen Pearl, president of the Bloomington Economic Development Corporation, said workforce needs repeatedly surfaced during a local employer panel and that the BEDC is available to help connect companies and schools.
The district indicated next steps: district playbooks and a district career-readiness framework (the “Edgewood Career Readiness Framework”), level 1 HRS certification in all buildings by the end of 2025 and movement toward level 2 instruction in fall 2025–26. Sanders said the district plans to return to the commissioners in the fall with a draft district playbook.
The presentation included examples and numbers the district provided to commissioners: 17 career pathways (goal exceeded), Coffee Corral sales around $30,000 and Coffee Corral cash on hand near $18,000, a proposed $4,500 equipment purchase discussed by students, about 100 preschoolers enrolled and a preschool waiting list roughly twice that size, and plans to seek Level 1 HRS certification across buildings.
