Aspire program showcases vocational lab, student enterprise and community partnerships
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
Aspire presenters told the board the post‑graduate program emphasizes vocational and life skills, community internships, a PACE vocational simulation lab at William Campbell, and a student‑run coffee shop that funds community experiences.
At the start of the meeting the board heard from the Aspire post‑graduate program, which supports students who earned applied studies diplomas in building vocational, functional and life skills.
Jean Hooning described a schedule that includes community‑based hands‑on experiences: students spend at least one full day a week working at local businesses, she said, and the program operates a student‑run coffee shop called County Perk. The coffee shop helps fund community experiences for students and provides training in customer service and food preparation.
Hooning said the PACE vocational simulation lab housed at William Campbell has drawn attention from other school divisions interested in replicating the model, and she listed business partners including Home Depot, Food Lion, Spring Hill Suites, Golden Corral and the University of Lynchburg. She also described a collaboration with Liberty University athletics for social and drill activities.
Board members thanked the presenters and accepted a small gift from students; they praised the students’ work and the program’s role in preparing graduates for employment or entrepreneurship.
Next steps: the presentation was informational; no board action was requested at this meeting.