 Hi, I'm Kate Young, and you're listening to This is Purdue, the official podcast for Purdue University. As a Purdue alum and Indiana native, I know first hand about the family of students and professors who are in it together, persistently pursuing and relentlessly rethinking. Who are the next game changers, difference makers, ceiling breakers, innovators? Who are these boiler makers? Join me as we feature students, faculty and alumni taking small steps toward their giant leaps and inspiring others to do the same. In these last four years, as we have worked to figure out the best approach to learning for them that prepares them and propels them to their future. And so, man, they've been a part of it. They've made some decisions. We value falling forward. So we value failure by learning our lessons and then picking up and either iterating it or, you know, doing something new or doing it again to make sure that it is viable. It's really exciting to see them really geeked about their future. They're passionate about their future. They see a future. When we tell the stories of boiler makers taking giant leaps on this podcast, we're featuring some of the country's most remarkable innovators and game changers. But the difference makers? Well, this episode features the difference maker. The passion, love and just pure excitement you'll hear from Shatoya Ward in this episode. Well, I have to bet it'll make your day. It most definitely made mine. Shatoya is the founding principal at Purdue Polytechnic High School, Anglewood. Purdue Polytechnic High School, commonly referred to as PPHS, was part of the original Purdue Moves initiatives in 2013 under the affordability and accessibility pillar. The goal? To build new K through 12 pathways that lead to Purdue, especially for Indiana students who are underserved by traditional high schools and underrepresented in higher education. There are now three locations, PPHS, Schweitzer Center at Anglewood, PPHS North in Broderickle and PPHS South Bend. These schools help students and families prepare for the next chapter of their lives, pathways to college, lifelong learning and careers in advanced manufacturing, technology and jobs not even envisioned yet. In June 2021, the very first class at PPHS Anglewood will graduate and receive their high school diplomas. Yes, this is our very first class. And you know, it's so crazy because all eyes are watching them, right? You know, it's like, okay, so you're doing this very different thing. What is going to be a result of your product? But I'm just really proud of them and I'm geeked of them and I have no reservations that they will be successful in their future. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. And 49 of your students were admitted to Purdue. Yes. How does that make you feel? Man, it makes me feel so awesome that we were able to provide the access for them, and then they were able to take it. Because, you know, you hear promises a lot in schools or corporations or, you know, colleges, you know, universities. But what we were able to promise, we were able to bring that to pass. And the kids, they were really geeked. The families were geeked about their acceptance and they're really geeked about being a Purdue student. And that, like, I mean, that's a pride moment, right? Like, they're going to step on that campus. You know, they've been ingrained and engaged in that campus for four years. It's going to feel comfortable to them. They're going to be able to engage with students. They were like, oh, I remember you, you know, faculty, I remember you kind of thing. So we just, we are really excited about those students and I can't wait to go to a Purdue University graduation and our students are involved in that. Now that you've gotten to witness some of Shatoi's excitement shine through, let's back up for a moment. PPHS was first approved in 2015 by Purdue University's Board of Trustees. Fast forward to now and Purdue University President Mitch Daniels wrote that PPHS is perhaps the most important single initiative we have underway in his 2021 annual open letter to the Purdue community. Shatoi explains why. Purdue University believes in innovation. And so, as you know, President Daniels is all about innovating and dabbling into new things. But I think the most important is, one, we would like to increase the pipeline of underrepresented minorities to diversify the campus. And then the second is to reinvent high school to do something very special in preparing our students for jobs that doesn't exist yet. In other words, this isn't your 8am to 3pm, change classes when the bell rings, attend classes you're not interested in just to get the credits needed to graduate type of high school. We'll get into more on this later in the episode. Shatoi actually went into college with the goal of becoming a nurse and ultimately an obstetrician until she started going into a hospital setting daily and decided to switch gears. Following a summer serving as a counselor at her local YMCA, it clicked for her that education was her true passion. She changed her major and never looked back. Throughout her years of education experience as both a teacher and administrator, Shatoi has started to notice something. When it came to the traditional approach to learning, one size did not fit all. On a traditional set, you are given a schedule, you are told what classes you're going to take, when you're going to take those classes, who you're going to take those classes with. And usually your journey in it and high school experiences individual is yourself. If you choose to work with a group of students thing you do and if you don't, you don't. It's very different for us. We know in the future that collaboration is really important in the success of career in college. We know also that innovation is really important when it comes to success and then also communication is really important. And so we focus a lot of what we do in the preparation with our students around those values. Our students are able to select projects that they are want to dive deeply in for a six week cycle. And they are working with a group of students in solving complex problems, some of it with partnerships with our industry. Some of it with the authentic audience, which is like in the community and they work to solve some problems that come up with viable solutions. And we know that the world is full of complex problems. And we hope that we are preparing our students to approach those problems and to be able to adhere and come to some viable solutions to those. PPHS offers tuition free authentic project based learning experiences that prepare high school students for a successful future. These experiences include internships, industry projects, dual credit courses and technical certifications. Shatoya explains an example of a PPHS project that weaves in a real world problem. We had a passion project that was surrounded around government. And right now we were able to utilize the current situation of education and in the state of Indiana how they value teachers. And you know what teachers are asking from the state as far as salaries and our students were able to dive in and talk to the committees of the legislator they were able to go to the state house and listen to some hearings and talk to some different political individuals and get their points of view. Usually those kids will be sitting in a classroom reading a book about government and talking through maybe how the structure of government works they'll learn that but they don't really connect that to what is happening currently. And so our students were able to work through that the process of the government right and how it works but then also go and talk to people and I have a say you know there was some papers written in you know have a stance in the current situation. They've been able to even advocate for their coaches here and we again we call our teachers coaches they advocated for their coaches here, based off of the processes that they learned in that project. Our projects run anywhere from from government to we have students who they've been able to create a book of poems from poems that's very close to their heart they wrote those poems. They put it in a book and our coach facilitate them been able to put that on Amazon. So it's available. Oh wow. So it's pretty awesome they're on it they're working on a second book and this project for this year. We have students who are designing and creating different things like labs, they create labs for themselves and their families. Eventually we hope that they can turn into an entrepreneurial project as well. We have students who have been able to take architectural designs and create everyday appliances or everyday things so like a chef or a chair or a table. They utilize architectural design to do so. So it's, you know, it's lots of hands we got we got these we got agriculture projects. We is amazing to see the spectrum of projects that our students are engaged in when it comes to their passion but I think most importantly is one is that they are passionate about what they're engaged in, and then to that they have the agency to choose that, and it's hands on, you know, so it's not just sitting in the classroom, learning the process is they're actually going out and being able to go into the community and involve themselves and engage themselves as they are learning the content. Although PPHS offers STEM focused experiences. The school also provides a wide variety of English and art classes and projects. We like to call ourselves is steam focused, and this a this in the steam can represent many things one is art. That's the poetry book right you know there's a lot of art that goes on with us. And then the second is ag. I mean Purdue is all about agriculture I mean they have a whole sector about this. We have a big hive on our roof right now that you know our teachers are coaches and our students are managing and maintaining right now so ag is really important to us as well and so yes we have the arts. If you're interested in writing we have that as well. It just means that these are the areas that we will like to see more diverse group in those careers. And so that's where we'll have our students interact with those people and experts in STEM careers. For PPHS students like senior Kayla Owens the high school has been a direct pathway to Purdue University. Kayla first saw Purdue on a sixth grade field trip. She says from that day forward she knew she was destined to become a boiler maker. So I fell in love with Purdue because I really felt Purdue was very welcoming to me and I felt like I belong. They open you open arms so I personally felt like that's all I really needed for me to feel like I wanted to go there. Before I even knew what I wanted to do like I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do a major and I was just like I just have to go to Purdue. She was actually the very first student to enroll at PPHS Englewood and is part of the first graduating class and let's just say she was very involved during her time at PPHS. I ran track and field. I was the cheer captain for the cheerleading varsity cheerleading team. I'm the president of Black Student Union. I'm involved in student government, national honor society, and just the overall event planner. So I planned majority of the events at my school. So the spirit weeks, the homecomings, just the little events that happened at my school. If a PPHS student earns a 3.4 GPA and at least a 1050 on the SAT or 20 on the ACT graduates from high school and achieves Purdue's admissions requirements, they can gain admission to one of Purdue's over 200 majors. Kayla tells us what it was like when she found out she was accepted into her dream school. So, let me be completely transparent. I totally cried because it was so overwhelming because I applied to 10 other schools besides Purdue, but I really was just like those schools don't matter. I just really care about Purdue. I just am waiting for Purdue to let me know that I got accepted and I was just super excited. My mom was screaming. I was screaming. I was just like this is amazing. I've been waiting for this moment right here. In 2020, 36 rising seniors from the first PPHS cohort attended an on-campus summer experience at Purdue where they received three college credits at no cost. I was very excited to do that because I realized that that would give me the chance to opportunity to see how I would like staying on campus. So now I feel like I'm more prepared to stay on campus because I already had that four weeks I was on campus where I was staying in a dorm and actually having that college lifestyle. So now I'm not scared because at first I was a little scared. I was like, okay, I don't know what's going to happen. It's my first time being on my own and away from home. So now it's like I'm ready and I feel like I'm prepared to do that now. I don't blame Kayla. It is scary to venture out on your own for the first time, but that's where PPHS is stepping in to bridge that gap between the high school and college experience. Reflecting back on my time in high school, which I'm sure is similar to a lot of our listeners' time in high school, I remember having seven periods and lunch daily. I saw the same teachers in the same classes every single day. But then when you get to college, it's quite different, right? There's usually a block schedule. You may have one class three times per week, but certainly not every day. One day of the week might be lighter, maybe you only have one class on a Tuesday, and then you budget your time working on assignments or studying at the library. Shatoya explains what a typical day is like at PPHS and why it aligns more closely with the college schedule. So we have cycles, and so there is a routine within the cycle, and then it causes the routine within the day for a student. Keep in mind, we have six cycles in a year, and so those cycles have different focuses throughout the year for different levels of students. So if I'm a first year student, my cycles for the first two years will look a little different than maybe a third year student and a fourth year student. So within the first cycle and beginning of the cycle, our coaches come up with some dynamic projects as they have learned what interest students or some students come up with some dynamic projects and then they pitch those projects to the school. So there as our students are able to look at the pitches of those projects, and then they get to choose what project that they are looking to engage in for that particular cycle. Now if it's something that they in that cycle that they absolutely love, then they may have an option to continue that in the next cycle. If it's something that they just like listen I did that but I chose it but it just wasn't my thing. It's awesome because the next cycle they can choose something else. They can have groups of students who lobby to have projects for themselves so they have a sponsor and they're doing their own passion project that they pitch if they want other students to be involved in that as well. So that's what I love about the agencies one students are able to do their own projects or they're able to select projects that our coaches have developed for them. And once that happens, we have a theme for that particular cycle, based off of the industry partner that we may have so we have partners like lilies is a partner which is awesome. And once we have that theme, then we know that we're going to work with that industry in whatever problem that resonates with our students, and then our students utilize the design thinking process within that six weeks to come up with a solution. The first thing also that is really, really important to us is relationship building and then academic guidance and so a student starts their day and ends their day and what we call personal learning communities. A coach leads that they have that same coach throughout the year and that coach is aiding them and guiding them through their day, helping them pick their schedules and their projects and working through competencies. I mean, just the academic guidance and then the social emotional so that within that personalized learning community, they work on life skills. They talk about things like study skills, but then they also talk about like emotional stability, you know how to handle themselves emotional intelligence. So a lot of that is going on in that PLC so a student starts the day in the PLC. So then that student may transition to their group for working on the project for the industry, and then that student may go to a passion project of their selection. And they'll work with that group for that passion project, then that student might have some PLT time what we call personalized learning time. There's an online component that we have in our curriculum, it gives that student an opportunity to work on that, or if they're caught up in that then they may select to, you know, work on some items that their projects lens or it might be a paper that they need to write or they might be, you know, an interview that they need to have or it might be they're working with their group because they're still working through the processes within those projects so they have some personalized learning time to kind of choose what they want to dive into for that day. Then they might have lunch, and then after lunch we call it wellness time so they get a little break for the day. From there then they'll my dive into another passion project, then they'll dive into a little bit more PLT time but this PLT is a little bit more guided so some of the areas that they may feel that they need are being encouraged through data that they can support in that is the time that they can get that support from a coach of expertise so if I'm working in my math courses, I need a little extra help in my math courses, then I'm going to make sure that I get in front of a math coach so that that math coach can guide me into that content. And then from there, they go back to their PLCs, they reflect about the day maybe reflect about the week maybe reflect about what their next day is going to entail. And then we dismiss for the day so that is a typical day of a student at PPHS. If they are a junior or a senior may look a little different due to some of the job shadowing opportunities that they have or work based learning opportunities that they may have, or there may be some dual credit options. We had quite a bit of students who had an experience with Purdue in the summer. We had a quite a bit of students who participated in Tech 120, which is a dual credit option that PPHS has partnered with Purdue. And so there may be some dual credit options within that day that they may dive into that may look a little different than the industry project and past projects. Angela discusses how this type of schedule helped her prepare for her time at Purdue. We basically had a college schedule to get us in that groove and move of time management and responsibility and just being individual. So that's how it really separates from a traditional school, not only with just having that much personal time to do your own work. But just to be able to work at your own pace. I know a traditional schools assignments are due the next day and not like my school words do at the end of the school year. So you have all that time to catch up and do what you have to do. So you don't feel like stress and press to turn in those assignments. Since this is a small school we get a lot of one on one time with our teachers because I know at traditional schools it's so many students that students really don't get that personal time with their teachers. So my teachers have been very supportive, very caring, and very pushing to motivate me to be the best that I can be. So I've gotten that time that I need to have you when I needed help. I have them to look for as resources. I mentioned at the beginning of this episode that one of the main goals for Purdue Polytechnic High School was to build a pathway to Purdue for underrepresented students and communities. Kayla goes on to explain how not only the schedule at PPHS helped prepare her for college, but the diversity at our high school was also key. I think another way that my school has prepared me for Purdue is how diverse it is. I'm so glad that my school was very heavy on the diversity because in reality in the real world, it's very diverse and at Purdue it's diverse. So that way I can go from diversity to diversity because in middle school, my school was predominantly African American. So to go from that to go to a high school that's diverse really helped me prepare for what I'm going to see at Purdue University. Another unique aspect of PPHS are the relationships between the high school and 12 industry partners in central Indiana, which provide early career exposure to PPHS students. One of those industry partners is pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and company headquartered in Indianapolis. Shatoia explains. We usually go on a field trip so students are able to go on a field trip and check out the labs of Lilly to see what actually Lilly does. They have access to their workforce. So wherever the problems that the students are resonating with them, they get to talk to someone that is maybe either heading up that problem or someone within that topic of that problem. So that's a profounding to have our students able to interact with Lilly's employee like that's fantastic you don't get to do that in a traditional setting. What I absolutely love about Lilly's one year they had an executive series so all of their executives came and spoke to our students and our students were able to engage and interact with can you imagine executives at Lilly's they came and it was so it was so awesome and so one of the young ladies who saw a woman executives was so a geeked about and she said now I know you know that that's something that I can obtain to so we get to interact with their staff, their staff get to bring their expertise and critique the ideas of our students and give them some guidance throughout the cycle and then at the end of the cycle, our students pitch their solutions to lilies and the stakeholders and lilies get to judge. If their solutions are viable and actually who had the best pitch, so it's pretty awesome. Since you've been listening to this episode, I hope you can see why this unique school has received so much attention in the years since its inception. Other schools and dozens of cities and states throughout the country are looking at PPHS as a model, a way to reinvent the high school experience. Why do you think that this has gained you know statewide attention and even national attention and why do you think it's important to bring this model all across the country. Man, that's a fantastic question because one we reinvent like this is something that we have developed from the ground up. And then second, I like to say that we have transitioned down I used to say we're transitioning but I think these phones here. Let us know that we have transitioned from the industrial age to the informational age. So a lot of things that's being taught in the high schools, it's valuable. However, I also have access to it right. And so what the informational age says is we need to not just know this stuff now and learn this stuff because it's available to us. But how do we apply that stuff education right now is still kind of stuck in the industrial age, and we're trying to forge our way through to see what informational age education look like we want to push our students to innovation. There's no longer a wrong and right answer. There's a best answer, but it's not a wrong and the right answer and so how do we get to the answers so that we can figure out what's the best one right. We feel like that that is really important in this time, especially I mean the COVID, the pandemic and you know it's unfortunate, but it really sped up a lot of innovation and ideals and what had been coming in the future has now come right. And so we want our students to be prepared for that automation is happening industry is they're going to look for. I saw I was looking at the floor super rule you know they got welders now that's automated. And that's crazy you know some of the cars that they're making they're looking that these machines that's going to take away a lot of jobs kids need to be prepared for that. And so what does it look like to be prepared for a job that doesn't exist. It means solving complex problems and figuring out how to manage to the automation, the informational stage. Shatoya's response right there really struck me. I remember going through the motions in high school, completing all of the assignments reading all of the chapters, trying to get all a's, you know the list goes on. But was I really learning. I certainly wasn't applying what I learned in my classes to solve complex problems, like the students at PPHS are doing. And what about the parents. How are they involved in what their kids are doing at PPHS. As Shatoya says they're included and engaged from day one. We've been able to come to the table for particular students to build that pathway for them. I think the families have been really excited about being a part of that and engaged and having the knowledge you know I just remember my son going to a large district and heck if I wasn't an educator I wouldn't know how many credits he needed until his senior year because that's the last time I got notification that either he was old track or not you know unfortunately he was you know he's way on track but I was like dang I just got notifications You know we start that out from the get go and so it engages the family so let them know like this is the expectations here. But this is the path that your kid has laid out. Let's work together to make sure that they meet that path so that they can be successful. In April PPHS celebrated Purdue Day as they counted down to their first graduation. Some of the day's festivities included a breakfast where Michael Berghoff chairman of the Purdue Board of Trustees congratulated the students on their accomplishments plus a T-shirt making station and a Purdue swing displayed out in the front lawn of the school's campus. Shatoya lights up when she looks back on that day. Oh my goodness. It was fantastic. I felt like that our students deserved every moment of that Purdue day. They have been very resilient in these last four years as we have worked to figure out the best approach to learning for them that prepares them and propels them to their future. And so man, they've been a part of it. They've made some decisions. We value falling forward. So we value failure but learning our lessons and then picking up and either iterating it or doing something new or doing it again to make sure that it is viable. It's really exciting to see them really geeked about their future. They're passionate about their future. They see a future, right? And it's not always. I see my futures, you know, I'm going to be, you know, get my master's or doctorate is a future and what they feel that is best for them and how they will support their family. And so we've been able to be a part of that. And yeah, I was really geeked that we were celebrating them. And I think when graduation come, I'm just going to have some mixed feelings and mixed feelings of excitement. And sorrow, because I won't be able to see their faces, you know, the daily faces watching them grow. That is something that I absolutely love as a principal is just seeing how students, when they're enlightened to take on the opportunity, take hold of access that is before them. And then when they walk through and they realize and they, they wake up, they're like, oh my God, this is afforded to me. I'm going to take that. I'm going to take that. I'm going to do that. Man, that is a fantastic, fantastic journey. So that's what really resonates me as a principal is why I love doing it. So mixed feelings for graduation, excitement and sorrow. It's important to reiterate that not every student at PPHS has goals of going to college. And that's perfectly great too. Shatoya shares a few stories on students who have impacted her throughout her time at PPHS. There's a guy, he's a Hispanic guy. And he's one of my students. But what I love when I talk about the light, right? When he first came to us, you know, he's a little lost. And we don't do things the same as traditional schools. There's no, you have to do this, this, this and that, you know, you get a little bit of choice in the things that you do and the time that you do it. And so for a little bit, he was just a little lost and he asked for some guidance. We gave him a little guidance. And then he just started to figure things out for himself. And then he started to see what he could accomplish. He started to dictate to me what his goals were. And he started working toward those goals. And that is fantastic. And you know, this kid is not a Purdue student. He wants to get into HVAC. You know, he wants to build a business in that. But I was happy because the experience that we provide at PPHS has afforded him. If he was in a traditional school, he wouldn't have made it because they would have been dictating to him what he needs to do and where to go and things like that. But because he was here, he had a little bit of time to figure out where he was. And then I have another one, African American male, his name is Kiantay. Now he is a Purdue University student or he will be this fall coming up and actually this summer. But his mom, she came to me. She's like, listen, we need to do all we can for him because he's just had some challenges in his life. And I'm doing the best that I can to navigate these challenges. But let's be a village and surround ourselves to make sure that he is successful in the school. And let me tell you, he's been in programs. We've been in his celebrations. You know, he's looking down at me, you know, he's talking as a man. He wants to work on shuttles and planes. And it's just fantastic to see him as he has blossomed and found his way and what he aspired to be at PPHS. And he had the same experiences, you know, both of them in the same experience. The light came on at different times in their experience, but they have been able to be on their way and dictate their pathway to their goals and their future success. And those two gentlemen, this is why I get up every morning and come in. And what about Kayla? What are her plans for her time at Purdue? I'm going to study computer information technology and minor and marketing at Purdue. Wow. Okay. And what made you want to go into that? At first, I was completely unsure of what I wanted to do. So I've really kind of shifted my career goals over the years. At first, I wanted to be a physical therapist. But then to be honest, I realized how long I'll be in school and I was like, nevermind, this might not be for me. So then I was like, I really like building stuff and doing hands on projects. So I think engineering might be the way I want to go. And then I looked into what types of engineering and I was like computer engineering would be great for me because that's technology related. And I know a lot about technology. So that would be something for me to go into as well as there's not that many minority women and engineering in general, especially computer engineering. So I said that could really be good for me. And then I realized that computer engineering might not be what I love to do. But CIT, I realized was something that I wanted to do more than computer engineering. I like to do things out of the box different than everyone else. So I don't want to be something that everyone else wants to be. So I feel personally that I'm making history and doing something and making an impact for those who come after me wanting to do those type of careers. So it means a lot to me for me to go into this type of career and make that change and show other minority women that these types of jobs aren't just for men, aren't just for other races. They're also for African American women as well. And what is she looking forward to the most come fall 2021? I think what I'm looking for most to being at Purdue is meeting new people because I know I've been around all the people at my school. So whoever is going, I'm gonna still see them, but then I'll also be seeing other people, like especially I'm really looking forward to meeting international people from overseas because I'll be really, really fun just to meet people from all over the place and not just Indiana and Indianapolis, but meeting those people and also being able to study abroad at Purdue and getting involved in those activities at Purdue University. Where are you thinking about studying abroad? So I would really, really like to go to Africa to study abroad or Paris would be nice as well. As for where you'll find Shatoya on June 11th, she'll be watching her seniors walk across the stage at graduation with a box of tissues in hand. Yeah, I'm not much of a crier. I usually try to uphold my emotions, but you know, I just told them that I am going to have a box of Kleenex right there next to me because you know, as they call their name as I see their families, you know, which we've been really engaged with. Every time I see them just going to tear up. So I'm just going to keep a tissue very close to me because like I said, I'm so geeked and excited about the futures of these students. They've worked really, really hard, but that lets me know they're really resilient. And we just really thankful for the families providing the trust and just allowing us to serve because it wasn't easy. They took a big risk, you know, they took a big risk with us. And so when I see that and the risk that they taken and what's the outcome of that risk of really, really excites me. You know, I just, I have to give some gratitude and thankfulness and appreciateness to President Daniels. This is his baby and this was something that he took the risk on in dabbling something like this, you know, a lot of a lot of presidents don't do that in university so definitely appreciate him I got to give a shout out to Dr. He's just got promoted to president of I think the online component of Purdue but he was the dean of Purdue Polytechnic Institute and he really had a forefront in the innovation piece of the reinvention of high school because of the work that he's done with Purdue Polytechnic Institute. And so I had to give him gratitude for that. And then last I have to get gratitude to the head of school, Scott best, who's been fantastic in providing resources and avenue for us a platform for us to be able to reinvent high school and do what is best for our students and setting them up for a successful future I got to give gratitude to those three men and then the last thing I got a great gratitude is to the PPHS staff who date in and day out work diligently for our students to serve our students and so I got to give gratitude to them and give them a shout out as well. And I'll leave you all with this last message from Kayla. I think Purdue knows how much I love them. I love guys so very much. So I think they know now. If you'd like to learn more about PPHS, please visit pphs.purdue.edu. Congratulations to all of the seniors at PPHS and boiler up. Thanks for listening to This is Purdue. For more information on this episode visit our website at Purdue.edu slash podcast. There you can head over to your favorite podcast app to subscribe and leave us a review. And as always, boiler up.