This collaborative approach caught the attention of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.“We’re part of the Carnegie Foundation grant where they’re studying what we’re doing to try to make recommendations to the whole nation,” Abraham notes. “I think there might be as many as 30 that are involved in that.” The foundation, which historically shaped American education through innovations like Pell grants and the credit hour system, now focuses on making rural educational excellence measurable within traditional metrics. Carnegie Foundation President Tim Knowles has emphasized that rural communities consistently prioritize the same core employability skills as urban and suburban areas: communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and work ethic. Randolph Central’s RAZ 32 model shows how resourceconstrained districts can deliver comprehensive career preparation without duplicating expensive equipment and specialized instructors. SUPPORTING MENTAL HEALTH AND BASIC NEEDS Academic achievement becomes secondary when students lack stable housing, adequate nutrition, or mental health support. Randolph Central addresses these fundamental needs through strategic partnerships.The district maintains strong relationships with Centerstone, a mental health organization that operates two offices directly within school buildings, and Meridian Health, whose clinicians work regularly with students on site. Following a student suicide several years ago, the district expanded its mental health infrastructure significantly. Abraham explains the preventive approach: “We added a guidance counsellor at the elementary level. We realized that we were trying to play catch up with some of the issues kids were having, and we really need to help teach coping strategies for kids in terms of mental health issues.” The district now employs separate counselors for grades K-2 and 3-5, who spend four out of six days weekly teaching social-emotional skills directly in classrooms. Practical support matters equally. Student support specialists ensure children have coats, hats, gloves, CTE programs with our neighboring schools. We house welding, precision machining, and CDL.Those are the programs that we contribute to the rural alliance zone.” The reciprocal system allows Randolph Central students to access programs at partner schools. Students travel to Randolph Eastern for health careers and business marketing, while Monroe Central hosts early childhood education, cybersecurity, and precision agriculture courses. Randolph Central maintains its own traditional agriculture program but sends students to Monroe Central specifically for precision agriculture technology. 296 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01
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