When Natrona County high school students in Casper, Wyoming, arrived at their academy labs last August at Pathways Innovation Center – the district’s new career-focused academy – they were welcomed with stacks of unopened boxes filled with state-of-the-art equipment. Their first assignment? Set up the equipment and their labs so they could start exploring, creating and collaborating on projects that fascinated them.
The assignment set the stage for what district leaders, teachers, students and the community envisioned for the school: a place for student innovation and empowerment. The programming was born out of years of planning to create an environment where students pursue their passions, earn credits toward graduation, prepare for life after high school – whether it was college or a career – and have say in their educational experience.
School and Community Engagement
Located in the foothills of west-central Wyoming, Casper has 65,000 residents and is the state’s second largest city. Nicknamed “Oil City,” it has a rich western heritage and relatively stable economy that is supported mainly by the oil and gas industries.
As Natrona County School District leaders began the planning process to rebuild its three overcrowded and aging high schools, there was growing concern within the community that students weren’t adequately prepared for life after graduation.
Open to 11th and 12th graders at the district’s three high schools – Kelly Walsh, Natrona and Roosevelt – Pathways is a state-of-the-art program connecting academics with real-world experiences in a wide range of fields, including engineering, arts and media, health science, agriculture and business. Students spend half their day at their home high school and the other half at Pathways working on academy-based projects.