CUTTING-EDGE EDUCATION written by Bobbie Hayse
City schools’ innovation
programs an asset to the community, Kentucky
Owensboro Innovation Academy opened its doors in August 2015, and along with that historical addition of a new high school came a shining spotlight on not just the area’s school systems, but also the city of Owensboro. The STEM-based high school features students from Owensboro and Daviess County public school systems, as well as Hancock County Schools. A prominent feature of the school is its project-based learning for students. In December 2019, then-Kentucky Commissioner of Education Wayne Lewis said the Owensboro Public Schools district is a Kentucky treasure, specifically for its emphasis on innovation and implementation of new schools to highlight STEM programming. For the efforts of OPS district leaders, the school system was given an award during the 2019 State of Education address. Three other districts across the commonwealth were also given the Innovation & Excellence in Educational Leadership Award at that time, and Lewis said it was important to call attention to Kentucky schools and districts that are stretching their boundaries and showing good results in the process. OIA is “absolutely one of those places,” Lewis said in 2019. “I believe it’s one of the most innovative high school ideas in the state,” he said. “It took incredible leadership on the part of the board and the district’s administration to move in that direction.”
PHOTO BY MAEGAN SAALWAECHTER
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Greater Owensboro
OIA came out of an idea to make the city schools district one of innovation. In 2014, the school was accepted into
