detectives, engineering, and other subjects designed to spark and develop career interests.” The district developed a “graduate profile” outlining desired characteristics for graduates: collaborative skills, critical thinking, lifelong learning capabilities, and communication abilities. High school juniors take a three-course sequence in their chosen pathway, preparing them for senior-year experiences outside traditional classrooms. “We want all our seniors out of the building either in dual credit courses, internships, or CTE courses,” McFarland says. “All our health students across the District are in internships or dual credit courses, and next year we’ll focus on media students.” The district tracks post-graduation outcomes through family follow-up calls.“We don’t want them to attend one semester of college and return,” Hanks notes. “We want them to be post-graduate success stories. We track our kids after they leave to see how well we’ve prepared them for their future.” CREATING OPPORTUNITIES IN ISOLATED SETTINGS Strategic partnerships form the backbone of GallupMcKinley’s educational innovation, enabling the district to overcome geographic isolation and limited local industries. The district has developed relationships with national laboratories, universities, technical schools, and regional businesses to expand student opportunities beyond what the local economy offers. “We partner with Navajo Technical University for our engineering students,” McFarland explains.“They provide engineering courses each semester and work with Crownpoint High, which is 50 miles away. We also collaborate with Sandia Labs and Los Alamos Labs throughout the year, plus a summer bridge program where both labs work with our students on specific projects.” These laboratory partnerships offer exceptional opportunities rarely available in rural settings. 11 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 06, ISSUE 05 GALLUP-MCKINLEY COUNTY SCHOOLS
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