The Captains of Innovation Treasure Hunt Winners were recently announced at the Pike County school system and their good ideas will be put into action thanks to Pirate Nation Innovation and Freshway Market. Shoppers at Freshway who round up their dollars will help the Treasure Hunt Winners’ good ideas become reality. The program was put in place in 2018 and allowed all staff members, teachers and administrators to submit ideas on how to improve the school system as a whole. The top ideas were voted on by all school employees before the Treasure Hunt Winners were announced.
The Captains of Innovation Treasure Hunt Winners for the Pike County School system include Leah Jordan (above left) whose idea would allow high school students to provide after school programming for primary and elementary school children; Carla Webb (above center) whose idea would create an elective class for high schoolers that teaches basic skills needed after graduation; and Chanda Steele (above right) whose idea would provide a class on job seeking and retaining skills for each student who graduates from Pike County High School.
Captains of Innovation announced
Each winner creates a small group to take part in a design workshop to further develop and implement their plans if needed.
“These ideas are in the second phase of their pilot. All ideas go through a design workshop to develop the initial pilot, then the ideas go through rapid iteration cycles as the test run reveals areas for improvement. Freshway’s Round-up program has been critical in the success of The Treasure Hunt. Typically, pilot programs must operate without any district funding, but because of the tremendous support from the community, each pilot has some funding to get started,” said superintendent Dr. Michael Duncan. “It is important, however, to the design model that the pilots programs follow a ‘lean’ mindset; that is a quick and inexpensive startup. It’s easier to iterate your idea when you have not spent too much time, energy, or resources. Moreover, the mission of our district is to develop creative problem-solvers, so it is mission critical that all staff members engage in creative problem-solving as well. Crowd-sources innovations turns traditional top down strategic planning upside down.”
The ideas funded from last year included plans to honor PCHS seniors who enlist in the military with a graduation stole, a SAT prep class; a staff attendance incentive; an outdoor classroom and an after school program/Early Childhood High School Pathway.
Chanda Steele - Professional Pirates
Pike County Middle School secretary Chanda Steele believes every student who graduates from Pike County Schools should have a semester-long class that teaches them job seeking and retaining skills. Her idea is to have each student learn how to get a how to keep a job.
Carla Webb - Welcome to the Real World 101
Pike County High School administration receptionist Carla Webb’s idea is to create an elective class that teaches basic skills needed in the world.
“There are so many kids who graduate that can’t sew on a button. I’m not talking about making a shirt - just replacing a button that falls off. This class could encompass other skills such as learning how mortgage payments work, how to prepare and follow a budget, how to balance a check book, how to use coupons to save money, how to do laundry and how to comparison shop for the best deals on appliances or anything else. The class would teach students how to cook simple meals, how to have a conversation with a stranger such as a possible employer or a doctor, how to read a map and how to change a tire. This would be a class that teaches survival skills after high school.”
Leah Jordan - After School Creative Programs
Pike County High School media specialist and literacy coach Leah Jordan’s idea would benefit both high school and primary to elementary aged children.
“We should offer more creative opportunities for our younger students to explore by offering paid opportunities for our older students to teach. We could allow high school students to go to the pre-K, primary and elementary schools during after school care to provide lessons such as dance, gymnastics, guitar, creative writing, art and more,” said Jordan. “The students could advertise to parents of after school programs what they are offering and what day(s) of the week it is offered, the maximum number of students and what the cost would be. Parents would be responsible for paying for those lessons, but costs should remain minimal. This would benefit the younger children as well because it offers them creative opportunities to explore while they are still in our after school care.”
“These ideas are in the second phase of their pilot. All ideas go through a design workshop to develop the initial pilot, then the ideas go through rapid iteration cycles as the test run reveals areas for improvement. Freshway’s Round-up program has been critical in the success of The Treasure Hunt. Typically, pilot programs must operate without any district funding, but because of the tremendous support from the community, each pilot has some funding to get started,” said superintendent Dr. Michael Duncan. “It is important, however, to the design model that the pilots programs follow a ‘lean’ mindset; that is a quick and inexpensive startup. It’s easier to iterate your idea when you have not spent too much time, energy, or resources. Moreover, the mission of our district is to develop creative problem-solvers, so it is mission critical that all staff members engage in creative problem-solving as well. Crowd-sources innovations turns traditional top down strategic planning upside down.”
The ideas funded from last year included plans to honor PCHS seniors who enlist in the military with a graduation stole, a SAT prep class; a staff attendance incentive; an outdoor classroom and an after school program/Early Childhood High School Pathway.
Chanda Steele - Professional Pirates
Pike County Middle School secretary Chanda Steele believes every student who graduates from Pike County Schools should have a semester-long class that teaches them job seeking and retaining skills. Her idea is to have each student learn how to get a how to keep a job.
Carla Webb - Welcome to the Real World 101
Pike County High School administration receptionist Carla Webb’s idea is to create an elective class that teaches basic skills needed in the world.
“There are so many kids who graduate that can’t sew on a button. I’m not talking about making a shirt - just replacing a button that falls off. This class could encompass other skills such as learning how mortgage payments work, how to prepare and follow a budget, how to balance a check book, how to use coupons to save money, how to do laundry and how to comparison shop for the best deals on appliances or anything else. The class would teach students how to cook simple meals, how to have a conversation with a stranger such as a possible employer or a doctor, how to read a map and how to change a tire. This would be a class that teaches survival skills after high school.”
Leah Jordan - After School Creative Programs
Pike County High School media specialist and literacy coach Leah Jordan’s idea would benefit both high school and primary to elementary aged children.
“We should offer more creative opportunities for our younger students to explore by offering paid opportunities for our older students to teach. We could allow high school students to go to the pre-K, primary and elementary schools during after school care to provide lessons such as dance, gymnastics, guitar, creative writing, art and more,” said Jordan. “The students could advertise to parents of after school programs what they are offering and what day(s) of the week it is offered, the maximum number of students and what the cost would be. Parents would be responsible for paying for those lessons, but costs should remain minimal. This would benefit the younger children as well because it offers them creative opportunities to explore while they are still in our after school care.”
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