Among many successful endeavors, including a campaign to greet each student at the front door every morning and sending each student hand-written notes of appreciation, Principle Taylor has implemented the Work Readiness Program.
“As a former small business owner and business education teacher I have always placed significant value in preparing students to enter the workforce and make effective transitions from school-to-school, school-to-work, or work-to-school. Our school staff worked through an iterative 4-year process to develop a Workplace Readiness Score document that reports employability scores at the end of each quarter for a student to voluntarily submit to a potential employer,” Taylor said.
The overall score is pulled directly from their Power School grading system and calculates Workplace Readiness scores based on a student's attendance, timeliness, missing and late work.
Just launched in 2019/2020, the program has already garnered strong support both from students using their Workplace Readiness score for job applications and employers pursuing Hutchison students. Staff says students are getting hired, building community connections, and changing their habits to meet personal educational goals.
“Principal Taylor has led the way in implementing innovative approaches to education that not only meet the needs of her students, but allow students to utilize their individual strengths and shine - each in their own way,” says Commission of Education and Early Development Dr. Michael Johnson. “It is exactly this approach that will brighten the future of public education moving forward.”
Taylor grew up in a large family owned business in Pocatello, Idaho that was one of the largest small business employers managing five corporate entities. Her mother was the chair of Idaho State University’s College of Education program teaching CTE teachers how to teach. She had the opportunity to take over one of the businesses after a stint teaching and left Alaska to take it, but quickly learned it was not what she wanted and came back to Alaska armed with a Bachelors of Business Administration, a Masters of Education and eventually earning an Educational Leadership Superintendent’s Certification.
“My driver was to be in education and see students succeed,” said Principal Taylor
Alden Gerome, a graduate of Hutchison High School who served as the youngest Fairbanks Board of Education member, is one of those students. “The adults at Hutchison High School know students very well. As a graduate, I feel like I will have life-long friends in my former teachers. The culture led by Ms. Taylor can be summed up in a statement that those familiar with Ms. Taylor have heard often, "I love you in a friendly and school appropriate way."
She hopes that moving forward educators, community members, parents and students can assess what works, re-think and re-imagine a public school system that works for today’s students.
“Here’s what we’ve done” says Principal Taylor, “learn from us, take what you want and make it yours.”
And her message to students, who are facing great change in their world today: “Flexibility is key. Be resilient, be responsive and find what works.”
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