Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

296 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 lens, preparing students for the world they are entering into.” Focusing on what has been termed ‘The Portrait of a Hampton Graduate,’ Hampton City Schools has outlined a specific set of skills that students should acquire in order to be college, career and life ready. “I think that we have to look at making the necessary adjustments and adaptations as the world changes,” he acknowledges. “Things are different from 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago. For that, we are thankful for all of our business partners who have helped develop parts of our curriculum and who stay involved to help provide some of those real-world experiences. Students are connecting with businesses through classroom speakers, site visits, job shadowing, internships, apprenticeships, and more. This will drive our work for many years to come.” Academies of Hampton The Academies of Hampton, a transformative endeavor, featuring 16 unique wall-to-wall academies and 44 pathways, exemplifies the school’s commitment to STEM education, emphasizing hands-on experiences, interdisciplinary connections, and partnerships with over 300 business and community partners representing 16 industries and eight colleges and universities. “Folks are choosing to come to Hampton based on the innovative things we’re doing around the Academies of Hampton, and the choice programs we have at the elementary and middle school levels as well,” notes Goral. Through these academies, Hampton City Schools offers a diverse range of strands, ensuring that each of its four high schools provide opportunities in engineering and technology, business, creative studies, and public service. From there, students have a variety of real-world opportunities, based on their own area of interest. Goral elaborates, “At our Academy of Law and Public Safety, we have a full courtroom with jury deliberation rooms in the back, right in the middle of our high school. We have a full working maritime lab at another high school space, we have a bank, a black box theater, a police car simulator, and our Governor’s Health Science Academy has top notch equipment.” She emphasizes the importance of the continued support from the city, both financially and as ambassadors for the school system’s work.