After being dormant for a couple years, the Woodward Academy drumline is back under the direction of music teacher Thomas Doggett. They offered a sneak peak to the student body at an assembly last week after only a month of preparation with a new group of students.
The drumline got it’s origins in 2008 and has been a steady performer at community and school events since that time. After taking some time off, the snares, cymbals, quads, and bass drums got dusted off and the students are working hard syncopating them all together and coming up with new rhythms. In addition to the drumline, Doggett also offers several classes of General Music classes, providing students with a well rounded music education. Next semester, the drumline anticipates performing at home sporting events and in the community.
Nearly every afternoon, Amando Alvarado is working toward his future and loving every moment of it. Rather than spend time on campus, he has earned the right to be employed while at Woodward Academy. He works with the Alzheimer’s unit at Madrid Home, a local assisted living environment for the elderly. This is not just any job, it was one that will help prepare him for the future.
Amando earned his Hi-SET high school equivalent in the summer of 2016. Shortly after that, he applied for an opening at the Madrid Home and was one of two students who started working there. It was an entry level position where he worked as an assistant to the staff there; passing out snacks, playing games, and just “keeping them busy.” This part of the job was not overly rewarding, but Amando found that he enjoyed the environment and helping those who lived there. He started asking questions of how he could get more involved, and eventually talked with the personnel at the administrative office who agreed to help him get his CNA to become a certified nursing assistant. Because of the work that he was doing, the Madrid Home agreed to pay for the schooling. Emily York, a nurse at Woodward Academy, noted that this is a mandatory first step to becoming a full time nurse. She helped him study for his tests and offered some helpful tips such as word associations to look for. After three weeks of classes, Amando earned his CNA from Signature Health Care in Waukee, Iowa.
Once Amando earned his CNA, more responsibility moved his way at the Madrid Home. He worked with many of the patrons one-on-one, and truly got to know them even when that notion was not reciprocated. Working with Alzheimer patients can be challenging, but Amando’s immensely compassionate heart and amazing patience makes him the perfect candidate for nursing. “I really enjoy it. It is almost like here [at Woodward Academy], you are teaching them everything over again. Sometimes they don’t always cooperate, or always know who you are, but they recognize you and I feel good about that.”
Amando’s experience at the Madrid Home has solidified his desire to continue to pursue nursing as aprofession. The Madrid Home has offered Amando a $1,000 a semester scholarship to continue his education at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). What Amando does matters, and he is making a difference in many people’s lives.
Amando is a great example of taking an opportunity and making it his own. He was given the chance to apply for this job, and once he was accepted and experienced what it takes to work in this field, his dreams unfolded in front of him. He was not simply content with this current, entry level role, and took the initiative to change his situation for the better. He worked hard at his job, did what was asked and expected of him, he never complained, and formed a positive relationship with his supervisor. Once he established that he was a trustworthy and honest worker, he earned the opportunity to further his career and become a Certified Nursing Assistant.
The 2016 fall sports seasons saw some great talent on the field and some outstanding individual performances. Both the football and cross country teams kicked off practice in August. The football team attended a fundamentals camp at Grandview College, while the cross country team started racking up the miles. Both squads were led by veteran coaching staffs. Lorenzo White has coached the football team since 2010, and this was his fourth season as head coach. Jason Anderson has led 4 teams to state as the coach of the cross country team, most recently last year along with his assistant coach, Aric Rush.
The football team changed their approach this season, emphasizing a STATS program. The coaching staff pushed Speed, Technique, Attitude, Temp, and Standard. That eventually transitioned to E+R=O, the Event (football) plus Reaction equals Outcome. At the end of the season, the team became more of a family and fought hard every Friday night. This team had a whole lot of talent and with the system in place, White saw that one of the biggest improvements was "the relationships they made with each other and the coaches." That attitude was felt across campus and generated a huge amount of school pride among the entire student body. At the end of the season, two Knights earned All-District honors because of their work on the field. Shabaka Thurman earned first team recognition, while Mike Solo earned second team honors.
This year's cross country squad was one of the youngest in recent memory, but they grew over the course of the season. Coach Rush saw "a lot of competition [during practice] to be the fastest on the team. Each runner truly found out where their strengths were to ultimately run their fastest race." In many ways, the team got smart in how they ran each race, and this effort paid off on the course. The highlight of the team's season was when they won the Carroll Kuemper Invitational in September.
The true standout of this year's team was Jakob Estermann. The senior runner was the fastest Knight all season and pushed the rest of the team to keep up with him. "I can't say enough about Jakob's work ethic. He came to practice wanting to win and often would not let anyone finish in front of him without a fight," said Coach Rush. That season long work ethic paid off at the District meet when he finished 10th and qualified for the Iowa High School State Cross Country Meet, annually held in Fort Dodge. At the meet, he ran 17:50 and finished in the top half of all runners. Jakob became only the 30th runner in school history to run at the state meet.
Experiencing trauma can fundamentally change a person’s life. Tragedy is unpredictable and can creep up in the form of natural disasters, a family member passing away, or living in an environment that fosters prolonged emotional stress. Unfortunately, for many students at Woodward Academy, traumatic experiences have plagued their life at far too early of an age. Many live with post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms from living in neighborhoods with rampant community violence (i.e. gang neighborhoods), and are asked to function as if nothing has ever happened.
It takes a long time to heal from severe emotional pain. If not addressed, youth who experience trauma early in life are at a much higher risk of having problems in adulthood, such as anxiety disorders, drug abuse, and prolonged criminal behaviors. Over the past several years, the clinical team at Woodward Academy has placed a greater emphasis on trauma therapy, including the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
This story was originally published in Volume 39 of the Knightly Knews that you can download here.
Change is a function of every industry, and the companies who embrace and initiate that change are the ones who remain viable into the future. Without change, any organization, including Woodward Academy, would lose their competitive edge and fail to meet the growing demands of their client base.
Electronic medical records (EMR) are at the center of health care reform in the United States. Under the guidance of Sequel Youth and Family Services, and the development of Willetts technology, Woodward Academy recently entered the ranks of operating within a federally certified EMR system. The road to this point was thoughtful, full of trial and error, and long, but a necessary step to be at the forefront of what will be inevitable. The decision to invest time and money into developing an EMR system was easy. Marianne Birmingham, Sequel Youth and Family Services Corporate Outcomes Manager, notes that having an EMR system “dramatically increases our ability to automate certain features that are proven to improve client safety. EMRs also improve our ability to communicate, be in compliance, and evaluate client outcomes.”
On August 14, construction began on Woodward Academy’s newest dormitory, Infinity Hall, and today that dorm opened. The 16 bed dorm is the first since Legacy Hall opened in 2009, and sits directly above the refurbished clinical services department in the newly acquired Elmcrest wing of campus. It is the new home to an expanded Phase 5 program.
Programming for students on campus involves four phases. In 2012, that programming was expanded to include an additional phase that focused on student transition opportunities. Over the course of a year, two off campus houses were opened that encompassed the Phase 5 programming and served 12 students.
The decision to bring one of those houses back to campus was reached with the intent of impacting more students with this programming. Over the past 3 years, there have been several good student candidates for the Phase 5 program, who were not able to be a part of it due to capacity issues. Phase 5 students are veterans of Woodward Academy. They are Knights and leaders across campus, and have demonstrated to have a sound understanding of the philosophy. Many of the students are upper classmen, although it is not a requirement, and are thinking about what their next step in life is.
With the expanded dorm, the Phase 5 program will be able to grow to 22 students and will be available to many more students. Additionally, they will have access to the same therapeutic services as the rest of campus, and will be able to have a greater presence on campus by participating in many more campus activities. Woodward Academy’s current capacity is now 272 students.
The latest edition of our award-winning publication, the Knightly Knews, is now online and you can access it by clicking here. As a .pdf document, you can view or download the quarterly publication to your computer, iPad, or smartphone for easy reading. This Electronic Medical Records edition includes:
- Profile on new Executive Director, Shawn Hollenkamp
- Electronic Medical Records
- Custom built EMR system called P.AN.D.A
- Expansion Project: Infinity Hall
- World's Powerlifting Coach
- I Am Building Woodward Academy video series
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Tour of Elmcrest Hall
- Around Campus: Homecoming and Gardening
We hope you have a chance to check it out and enjoy the read.
In September, Shawn Hollenkamp accepted the position of Executive Director at Woodward Academy, a return to campus for a company that he has spent the last 14 years of his career. After graduating from Iowa State University in 2001 with a degree in Child and Family Services, Shawn began his career at Woodward Academy in 2002 like many others, as a youth counselor.
Over the course of his career, Shawn has held many positions on campus including operating the daily shifts on campus in a Group Leader role, to supervising a dorm as Program Director. In 2006, Shawn was promoted to Group Living Director, a position he held until 2013 when he was once again promoted to Executive Director of Woodward Community Based Services (WCBS). Located in Des Moines, WCBS was “founded in response to the growing need to serve children, adolescents, and their families in their home community.”
When Shawn took over at WCBS, they were operating five separate community based programs. Under his leadership and with a great team, WCBS expanded their services and cast a wider net across the state to serve more needs. Tracking and monitoring, out-patient school based therapy, substance abuse treatment, and family peer support services were all added. WCBS also received a grant called Community Based Interventions, and a contract to be the Boone County Juvenile Court Liaison. Most recently, WCBS had been approved to provide residential in-home services for adults who are Severly Mentally Impaired (SMI).
Upon his return to campus, he is excited to meld his group living and community based experience into one, and he is excited to be back on the campus where his career started 14 years ago. The position opened after Ryan Santi, Executive Director from 2013 - 2016, was promoted to Vice President of Operations within Sequel Youth and Family Services. He will now help build facilities across the country within the Woodward Academy model.
For approximately a year, the clinical services team has been occupying their new wing on campus: Elmcrest Hall. The expansive space is certainly making a difference to what they had before. For years, the team was separated across campus, and at one point, 6 therapists were sharing a small classroom in the education building. Today, thirteen therapists have their own office space in Elmcrest, with plenty of room to grow.
Amidst the offices, there are several large areas for group sessions to take place. Knight’s Mind Training, art therapy, and trauma therapy groups now have ample space to operate. In addition, the substance abuse counselors and behavioral health intervention services (BHIS) counselors have moved to Elmcrest to join the rest of the team. There is also a play therapy space, and a room dedicated solely to neurofeedback.
To get a visual of what Elmcrest looks like, take a tour with clinical therapist, Monica Johnson.
Extracurricular
activities are a great way for staff members to teach their areas of passion
outside of the school day, and for students to be a part of some life long
learning opportunities. For many people, summer time fun equals gardening.
Spending afternoons in the sun with their hands in the soil is a great way to connect
with the earth. Months later, your efforts are pulled from the ground and end
up on your dining room table. For Ray Olson, teacher at Woodward Academy,
exposing students to the finer art of gardening is a life skill worth
exploring
Thanks to a $2,000
grant received from Whole Foods grocery stores, the gardening extracurricular
was able to have a plentiful harvest this fall. With the money, they
purchased some great gardening equipment and fencing, with the rest allocated
toward landscaping. In all, they planted 9 different vegetables and have been reaping
the rewards for weeks. With a lifelong agricultural background, Olson hopes to
extend this extracurricular beyond the fall harvest. He noted that during the
winter, students could do some indoor planting and learn more about weed
identification, fertilization, and soil testing. He will also be exploring the
possibilities of additional grants next year.
Guthrey Fritz, Admissions Director and former Knights powerlifting
coach, recently returned from Szczyrk, Poland, after a week of representing the
United States team as a coach at the IPF Sub-Junior (high school) and Junior
(collegiate) World Powerlifting Championships. The U.S. delegation brought four
teams with 36 of the best lifters in the country to compete at the
international competition.
Fritz’s history with elite powerlifting goes back more than
a decade. He started the Woodward Academy powerlifting program 2003 and over
the course of his tenure as head coach, won 10 consecutive USAPL High School
National Championships, crowned 24 individual National Champions, and brought a
total of 116 lifters to the national competition. The bookend of his coaching
career at Woodward Academy occurred in the fall of 2015 when he travelled to
this same competition in Prague, Czech Republic. He coached WA lifter, Julious
Walker, to a runner-up World Championship.
After his experience with the team last season, U.S. Head
Coach, Curt St. Romain, offered Guthrey a spot as a coach on this year’s team.
He was assigned specific lifters and worked with them throughout the
competition in getting checked in, setting rack heights, during weigh-ins, and
calling squats for the lifters. At the end of competition, the U.S. team
performed exceptionally well. The sub-junior boys were crowned World Champions,
with the junior boys earning a bronze metal. Both the sub-junior and junior
girls teams won silver.
Guthrey has already been asked to coach on next year’s team,
with the 2017 international competition taking place in Orlando, Florida.
The fall sports posters for the 2016 season are out and can be picked up on campus. Both sports have begun competition and are getting a good early start to their seasons. Both posters showcase the team, with captains and key athletes playing a predominant role in the images. As always, the 2016 schedule is on there as well. If you have an opportunity to cheer on the Knights for some Friday, gridiron action, or on a golf course near you, I highly encourage you to do so. In the meantime, follow our Facebook page to get updates throughout the season.
Last Friday marked the beginning of the 2016 high school football season across the state. If you had a chance to be at Knights Stadium, it was an electric environment and an entertaining game to watch. We live streamed the game on our new Listen Live! website: Meridix, where you can listen to all of the Knights' football games this season as the official "home and away voice of the Knights."
If you've been a listener to the Knights online, this year will sadly sound different. The Woodward Academy family lost one of its biggest fans and supporters last March, when Chris "Megaphone" Charron, unexpectedly past away. He was the "voice" of the Knights since the beginning of our football program, and is the sole reason why we are able to continue to provide this amazing service this year. In an act generosity, when he passed away, his wife donated much of the audio equipment to Woodward Academy, and it is that equipment that will bring you all of our games.
Nacona was recently given the distinct honor of being a Lifetime Executive Knight, an honor that few Woodward Academy students receive. But what does this mean? On the surface, it means that he is one of only 8 students to have received this honor since 2012 when the title was first introduced. The process to become a Lifetime Exec is not concrete and does not include a checklist of skills that can be marked off. Each recipient was chosen because they stood above the rest of the student population. The vagueness and ambiguity of this honor is what makes it special and distinct, and that much more meaningful to each Knight who receives it.
Each Lifetime Exec started the same way on campus: as a new peer who didn't have a full understanding of the Woodward Academy way. Over the course of their stay on campus, they picked up on the student culture, learned from their student leaders, and formed their own leadership style. All of these Execs took on a mentoring role on their dorms, and spoke their mind and offered feedback to other student leaders (some who they may have befriended). They had to be the bearer of bad news at times, but were also the beneficiary of Knights privileges. Their role shifted with the pulse of campus, but they knew that and always accepted the challenge because it was in them to lead… and they embraced it.
The honor is a reflection of what they did on campus. I would be remiss to say that receiving the Lifetime Executive Knight honor is a guarantee for success. It is not. As a school, we equipped these students to distinguish themselves as leaders amongst their peers, and then they leave and put into practice what they have learned. Some check in periodically to offer updates on how they are doing. One is entering his junior year at college on the east coast, doing exceptionally well. Another I had the benefit of running into at Target of all places. As we were both getting household essentials, we locked eyes at the same time, but he was the first to draw his hand for a gentleman's handshake. We exchanged pleasantries, he introduced me to his girlfriend, and assured me he was doing well. He was getting stuff for his apartment. After two minutes, we parted ways and I left knowing he was still a Knight inside. It should not have surprised me, he is a Lifetime Executive Knight after all.
A significant number of students at Woodward Academy have been identified as having high levels of emotional and behavioral dysregulation. This refers to the emotional and behavioral responses that fall outside of the accepted social norms. This results in entrenched patterns of maladaptive and anti-social behavior. Severe and explosive anger, physical, verbal, and sexual aggression, opposition and defiance, anxiety, and depression / suicidality are all indicators of this dysregulation. The disruptive behaviors of these types of students present an ongoing challenge and frustration.
The current gold-standard of care and treatment for this is an approach known as dialectical behavior therapy. By incorporating this approach while also drawing upon other frameworks such as acceptance and commitment therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, somatic experiencing, and interpersonal neurobiology, the Knight’s Mind Training (KMT) program represents an array of evidence-based interventions which have been shown to be very effective in groups with teens.
That is a very clinical explanation for KMT that also requires a practical application. So what is Knight’s Mind Training? Chris Johnson, the Clinical Therapist behind the KMT program explains that “just as we do PT (physical training), we must also train our minds,” and every day is training day. As a huge advocate for mindfulness training, he believes that every person, not just students, would benefit from this program.
Our bodies carry stress and we start to feel overwhelmed in certain situations. Then our minds start to say ‘I don’t like this feeling’ and we begin assigning reasons for why we feel that way. “I’m overwhelmed, I can’t handle it. I’m overwhelmed, it’s that person’s fault. I’m overwhelmed, I’m so awful. And all of these stories are heaping more suffering and pain on top of the pain that is already there.” KMT helps individuals “pay attention to the present moment... without judgement” so that they can have a clear mind with what is right in front of them.
Chris Johnson, MS - Clinical Therapist With 15 years of experience in the counseling field, Chris has developed a unique way to reach adolescents in Knight’s Mind Training. With a degree in Psychology from Central College, a Masters of Mental Health Counseling degree from Drake University, and having been a Knight for 6 years, he developed this curriculum in 2013. His own mindfulness studies include practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and working toward a certificate in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction for Teens.
When Jerry Anderson made the difficult decision to retire as WYC President, the search was on for his replacement. Starting July 6th, Aaron Peterson became the person that has the responsibility to fill those big shoes. As a native of Madrid, Iowa, Aaron attended Coe College where he ran track and played football, earning his degree in Business Administration and Sports Management in 1994.
This first exposure to Woodward Academy was in 2005 when he agreed to be one of four initial members of the mentor program. He worked with students, offering advice on the importance of having a good work ethic, and helped them develop life skills such as budgeting. Aaron is currently the President of Lonewolf Financial, a company that he founded 11 years ago. He’s been married to his wife Jodi for 16 years, and together they have two children.
This story was originally published in Volume 38 of the Knightly Knews that you can download here.
More than any other person, Jerry Anderson has built Woodward Academy into what it is today. He has been here from the beginning. Literally. On July 10, 1995, when Woodward Academy opened its door to its first four students, Jerry was one of the original 13 staff members. Twenty one years later, on July 5, 2016, he stepped down as President of the Woodward Youth Corporation (WYC), leaving a legacy in tact that is comparable to none.
When our students walk through one of the four school buildings, they can thank Jerry. Our football team competes at their renovated stadium on Friday nights thanks to Jerry. Our baseball team runs the bases at Knights Field, and our students have jobs with Knights on the Move because of Jerry. Today, Woodward Academy has 262 students on campus and is a known industry leader… thanks to Jerry.
The latest edition of our award-winning publication, the Knightly Knews, is now online and you can access it by clicking here. As a .pdf document, you can view or download the quarterly publication to your computer, iPad, or smartphone for easy reading. This Presidential Blueprint edition includes:
- Become a Woodward Academy Knight
- How Jerry Anderson built Woodward Academy
- Class of 2016 Commencement Ceremony
- Open House
- 7th Annual Knight's Scholarship Golf Outing
- Track and Field Season Recap
- Knight's Mind Training
- New WYC President
- Communication Awards
We hope you have a chance to check it out and enjoy the read.
The National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA) recently announced their 2016 award winners and Woodward Academy earned honors in all three categories in which we submitted. The Golden Achievement Award was given to our comprehensive communications program. Our submission was judged based on the four steps of a public relations program: 1) analysis of the need; 2) planning to meet the need; 3) execution and communication of the program; and 4) formal evaluation. Woodward Academy was one of only 90 schools / districts across the United States to receive this recognition, and one of only two in the State of Iowa. Click here to see the entire list of winners.
We feel proud and honored to have been given the opportunity to tell amazing Woodward Academy stories over the past year, and that those efforts have been recognized at the state and national level. These awards mark the end of this year's campaign, and the beginning of next year's push for great content. Below is a recap of our 2016 awards season: Iowa School Public
Relations Association (ISPRA) Print
Newsletter - Knightly Knews – Blue & Gold Award Photography
- State Basketball – Blue
& Gold Award Video
- I Am Building video series - Blue & Gold Award Social
Media – Facebook Page - Award of Achievement
National School
Public Relations Association (NSPRA)
Comprehensive Plan - Golden
Achievement Award
Video – We Own the Knight Documentary – Award of Merit
Special Purpose Publication – 2015 Guide – Award of Honorable Mention
In it’s seventh consecutive year, the Knight’s Scholarship Golf Out benefiting the Woodward Academy Lifetime Commitment Fund took place at Beaver Creek Golf Course in Grimes, Iowa on June 24. This year, 79 golfers attended the four-person best-ball tournament that raised $2,500 money for Woodward Academy alumni as they move onto the next stage of their life. In the seven years that this tournament has taken place, over $39,000 has been raised, all of which has gone toward helping WA students. Whether it is college tuition, books, apartment
furnishings, or helping a past student with travel expenses to compete at the USA Track & Field Indoor National Championships, the tournament has made a significant impact on students lives and will continue to do so for years to come. A special thank you to the 27 generous sponsors who helped make this year's event a success.
What does it mean to be a Woodward Academy Knight? For many students, they would tell you that they have changed. That they are more mature and polite. They listen to feedback and are open to ideas. They are respectful, kind, caring, have empathy, and they have reflected on their past. They know what they did, and they now understand the ramifications of those actions.
As staff members, we initiate this difficult change and delight in watching it take hold in students. But that change happens on our campus, in isolation to the rest of the world. Few people see it happen, and even less think that it can. Eventually, many of our students must confront the fact that some people still think that they are criminals… that they are lazy and lack self-discipline, that they cannot amount to anything. So perhaps the greatest characteristic of a Knight is having grit and the desire to overcome those obstacles, because "those people are wrong."
Over the course of their stay at Woodward Academy, these students have come to that conclusion honestly. Their change is authentic, and now they see their future as bright as ever. Months ago, these students were on a collision course toward incarceration, or an even worse fate. Now they can say "I am a Woodward Academy Knight. I will never accept negative behavior. I will never quit."
What is the ripple effect of this change? The goal is to help every student who attends Woodward Academy with their immediate micro-behavioral needs. We want them to be kind and respectful, and be able to listen. They must suppress some of their immediate behavioral urges, and get rid of others all together. For many students, this can happen very quickly (within weeks), and it starts them on the path toward the real benefit of being a Knight. On a macro level, this change takes hold to course correct their life. It serves a long term purpose so that they will be able to share their wisdom with their brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends. Being a Knight means that our students have an opportunity to be a quality student, a great son, and eventually a good employee, spouse, mentor, and father. That is what happens when you Become a Woodward AcademyKnight, and that is how you change tomorrow.
Now that the baseball season is in full swing, here is the official poster of the 2016 Woodward Academy Knights team. This year's squad has been performing well this season and there is still time to catch a game at Knights Field. The poster is a composite image of each individual player and a sweet aerial shot of the home field. Be sure to pick up yours today on campus to add to your collection.
If you would like to see additional pictures of the baseball team in action, you can visit our Knight Pics website and after the break, we have embedded a highlight video from one of the team's home games.
Woodward Academy’s annual Open House was an event filled day that took place on June 2nd. In many ways, the day serves two purposes: it is a fun day full of activities for students and staff, and a great way to showcase the school and campus to anyone interested in the school and new to the Woodward Academy way.
Guests who attended the day were treated with expanded events for this year’s event. For years, the day kicked off with a 5K “fun run” that is more grueling than enjoyable. Part of the course has participants running through a chilly creek, and then finishing by going up what campus calls the “Iron Man,” a 70 degree muddy hill that is only more difficult with wet shoes. This year’s staff and student winners were teach Tyler McCubbin and newly crowned school record holder in the 400m, Ashton Putzier.
In an attempt to get more people involved, all of the events were given point values to determine which dorm performed the best. As a traditionally colorful day, full of themed customes, points were also awarded in this category. Once the 5K concluded, dorms assembled their teams for the tug-o-war contest, as well as the outdoor basketball and bags tournament. After lunch, the monthly assembly concluded the day by announcing the Student and Staff of the month, and the monthly awards of Silver Apple, Golden Dustpan, and Knight’s Achievement Award. Once tallied, Delta company became the dorm winner of the day.
Why should you attend next year? The Woodward Academy culture is on full display. Many guests who took campus tours with students were blown away by their ability to explain the school, programming, and how it has changed their life. It is also pretty fun to watch and get a sense for how all the students and staff interact on a daily basis. If you’re interested in seeing more pictures from Open House, visit our Knight Pics website.
The 2016 track & field season came to a close May 19-21 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines at the Iowa High School State Track & Field Meet. It was an end cap to a remarkable season where the Knights won 4 team titles, numerous individual events, and broke 2 school records.
Head Coach Shaun Mohon pushed the phrase "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" all season. He reflected that this year's team, from a pure talent standpoint, was not where previous WA teams had been. "We did not have the top end speed that we have had in the past. The reason this team was so successful was due to hard work, practicing well, and the work of all the coaches."
Read more about how the season progressed and the state meet after the break.
On May 18, we honored the graduating class of 2016 with a commencement ceremony in the Woodward Academy gymnasium. This year, 33 students completed coursework to earn their high school diploma, and 13 students fulfilled the testing requirements to obtain their Hi-SET high school equivalent. This was the largest graduating class to date at Woodward Academy, and is a celebration of the commitment that these students made.
Group Living Director, Trent Fleshner, summarized their journey best when he said this day was not "always guaranteed for some of you guys… and I think it means all that much more, and it's that much sweeter that this day is here." Quincee Altman and Matt Sosa provided the student speeches from the senior class and choose to spend most of their time reflected on how Woodward Academy changed their mindset about education. Quincee self-disclosed that he was the student who would sleep in class and not do his homework. Today, he spoke as this year's Governor's Scholar recipient. While introducing Matt, Fleshner recalled a story that in his referral packet, a judge said that he was "the worst juvenile delinquent" that his county has ever seen. Fleshner countered that statement by describing how Matt has succeeded at Woodward Academy by being a leader on campus and "has been nothing but a great kid for Woodward Academy." The keynote was Dr. Anthony Jones of the Ames Community School District. He was inspired by the stories that originated from Woodward Academy and offered tips for the leaders of tomorrow.
The entire ceremony was a celebration. If you have time, check out the video recap of the event above. There are some really great moments, both large and small, that portray the camaraderie and commitment that both Woodward Academy students and staff put into this day. Whether it's Principal Jeremy Hilbert adjusting a graduating senior's tie, the inspiring senior speeches, or Lead Teacher William Terry encouraging the crowd to cheer loudly as they walked across the stage, it is safe so say that this commencement ceremony was unlike any before it.
In 20 years, Woodward Academy has seen a substantial amount of change and growth in the treatment and clinical services that are offered to students and families. Clinical Director, Tonna Lawrenson, recalls when the team solely consisted of herself and Quality Assurance Director, Michelle Fenelon. The majority of the growth has occurred within the last 4 years, as the team has expanded and gained more valuable therapists. The days of only having a minority of students receiving therapeutic services are in the past. Today, the 13 clinicians have 11 Masters degrees and a Ph.D. degree between them as they serve the mental health needs of our students.
What sets our team and services apart from other facilities?
Each therapist has found a niche or focus, and with each specialty comes education, experience, training, and motivation to create a very diverse and comprehensive treatment program at Woodward Academy. The diversity of the services that are offered demonstrates the commitment to the needs of students. The team is continuously developing new curriculum and enhancing the evidenced-based treatments available in order to ensure that students are receiving the best treatment possible.
Last week, several students attended the Construction Careers and Education Expo, presented by the Central Iowa Apprenticeship Coordinating Committee. The two-day event was held in Des Moines at the Iron Workers Training Center and was designed to be an exposure opportunity for high school students interested in the construction industry. Unlike other career fairs with booths and pamphlets, this expo had hands-on equipment that students could operate from a variety of different trades. Students tested their skills on an excavator by picking up propped up tennis balls and even jack hammered solid rock. One of the more impressive exhibitions was a virtual reality auto painting training station. The participants got immediate feedback on how well they covered the simulated car as a way to gauge their skill level and interest in a career.
The four staff members responsible for getting students to participate in the expo were Education Liaison Aric Rush, Testing Coordinator Don Teague, who works with Hi-SET students, Vocations Director Ken Hageman, and Treatment Operations Coordinator Joel Porter, who also runs the World to Work extracurricular activity. The three of them identified students who would benefit the most from this exposure. Typical high school students are not fully aware of what they want to do when they enter the workforce, which makes this type of exposure to the construction industry beneficial. It can help inspire them to enter this field, or at the very least provide an appreciation for the demands that construction careers require.
The latest edition of our award-winning publication, the Knightly Knews, is now online and you can access it by clicking here. As a .pdf document, you can view or download the quarterly publication to your computer, iPad, or smartphone for easy reading. This The Sixth Man edition includes:
- Athlete of the First 20 Years
- The Sixth Man
- Letter from Parent in the Community
- USAPL High School National Championships
- Celebrating at Universal's Island of Adventure
- Clinical Team
- Knights Basketball Recap
- Outcomes Survey
- Knowledge Bowl
We hope you have a chance to check it out and enjoy the read.
As a school, our communications naturally focus on student opportunities, achievements, and the amazing contributions that our staff make every day. We work really hard to tell interesting stories, and to make them visually appealing and engaging to our audience. On Thursday, April 7, some of our efforts were recognized at the Iowa School Public Relations Association (ISPRA) communications awards banquet.
This was the first year that we submitted materials for awards consideration. Of the 20 events, we identified 4 categories where we felt we could perform well, which include Photography, Print Newsletter, Social Media, and Video. As a local chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (NSPRA), it is policy that another state score the submissions based on rubrics.
This year, professionals from the Colorado chapter scored Iowa's submissions. When averaged, if a submission scored between 7-8, they earned an Award of Merit. Scores between 8-10 earned an Award of Excellence. Out of that pool, submissions that scored 9 and above were eligible to earn the top honor of the Blue & Gold Award. Woodward Academy was honored to receive 3 Blue & Gold Awards, earning the top prize in photography, print newsletter, and video for our I Am Building Woodward Academy series. School districts from across the state submitted materials and this year was the largest to date. We are excited to be recognized for our efforts in this area and look forward to telling more amazing stories.
