The Academy @ Shawnee

The Academy @ Shawnee (formerly Shawnee High School)

4001 Herman Street

Louisville, KY 40212

Serves students in the 9th thru 12th grade and offers students four magnet programs: Aviation Flight, Aviation Maintenance, Travel and Tourism, or Marine Technology.

Partnership programs include:

• Upward Bound - Some 25 students are participating in the Upward Bound program.  These students attend after-school and weekend educational activities on the university's campus and participate in a six-week residential summer program.  The purpose of the college readiness program is to provide students with educational support and educate them about college.  Upward Bound Counselors work with students on issues pertaining to grades, test scores and attendance.
• KnowHowToGo Campaign - This program is coordinated by UofL students.  The purpose is to educate students about college and familiarize them with issues such as financial aid and admission requirements.  The program is offered to 9th grade students.
• Teacher Professional Development - A faculty member from the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) has been assigned to the school for several days each week.  The faculty member works closely with the principal and teachers to identify areas for professional development.  Current plans with CEHD include specialized training for Shawnee faculty in ACT test preparation, instructional teaming practices, reading across the content areas, and embedding the newly named magnet programs into the curriculum.  As the Academy at Shawnee moves to become the first K-12 learning campus in western Louisville, CEHD is providing technical assistance to the administrative design team as well as assisting with the immediate redesign work at the high school level.
• Summer Academy - The summer academy brings faculty from the College of Education to work with teachers in areas of education to enhance teacher effectiveness.
• Gift Card Contributions - CEHD faculty and students in the Ed.D programs (OVEC and JCPS cohorts) sponsored a gift card drive to help provide incentives to students for attendance and "good faith efforts" during February 2010.  Cards came from Kroger, Walgreens and Target from the students and staff in the Ed.D program.  This is a great incentive for the high school students.  $5.00 gift cards were given to students in the after school program.  There is a need to locate funding to continue this incentive program.
• Scholarship for Teachers - Through a private donation, full scholarships were provided for teachers in the AP Summer Institute held at UofL in the summer of 2010.  Two teachers participated in 2010 and two participated in 2011.
• Sustainable Model for Teacher Training - A $1 million Oxley Foundation gift to the CEHD will enable the school to serve as a sustainable model for teacher training and comprehensive professional development.  In addition, the funding will help recruit and retain more high potential teachers and provide them with resources to pursue NBPTS certification.
• Oxley Fellows -  Created from the Foundation gift, it provides tuition remission for six hours of graduate work for teachers.  Presently, two Shawnee teachers are Oxley Fellows.
• College Coaches - A $2.6 million Department of Education grant through the Council on Opportunity in Education will enable two full-time college coaches to be placed in the school.  The college coaches work with cohorts of students at each grade level to prepare them for college.  The grant also funds a two-week residential summer bridge program on campus for incoming freshmen.
• Students in the Design for Public Issues class taught by Leslie Friesen from the Department of Fine Arts provided more than $200,000 worth of graphic design work, including a graphic design manual.  Several students will be hired on part-time to work on other aspects of design for the school.

Programs in which the University of Louisville was previously involved

• Urban Planning and Design Career Program - Graduate students from the Department of Urban Planning worked with students in the career magnet program to educate and inform them about urban planning and design.  Urban Planning students taught the classes along with the teacher and hosted students on UofL's campus to tour design projects.  The design created by Shawnee students is being utilized in a project to create a new attractive entrance to the school.

For more information about the school, contact:

Dr. Keith Look, Principal

You can also visit their website.

You can also view Shawnee's 2010 NCLB data