Civil Municipal Magazine - Dec 2023

297 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 HAMPTON CI T Y SCHOOLS Superintendent Haynes remarks, “We’re looking at this through the equity lens too. If a young person wants to go to a school that they’re not zoned for, we provide that transportation to them to ensure they are able to participate in an area. We make certain that we eliminate all barriers to ensure young people have access to what they are desiring to pursue.” A Ford NGL Learning Community As a Ford Next Generation Learning (NGL) community, Hampton City Schools has been revolutionizing teaching and learning at the high school level, through their unique academic approach. “Our first inaugural class graduated from this model in 2021, and it has just continued to grow,” reports Goral. “We have now been designated first in the nation as a K-12 Ford NGL community. That’s not pushing the academies down to that middle or elementary school level, but rather looking at the third through eighth grade curriculum and creating signature events and experiences throughout that curriculum. We are embedding those experiences so that students are more aware of themselves, their community, and what is past elementary or middle school or what a high school will look like, because we do not have that traditional brick and mortar high school.” A Holistic Model Along with the intentional approach to curriculum and academics, the school system places emphasis on social-emotional learning to support the overall well-being of students and staff. This includes a deliberate focus on the whole child, providing resources and support for emotional well-being. Haynes suggests, “When we’re talking about the excellent things that are occurring in the school system, we know it’s not done by accident, we have been deliberate in our work. When we’re talking about young people getting what they need academically, we also want to look at the whole child and provide things in the curriculum around social emotional learning, and also provide resources and support to staff members as well.”