When it comes to XQ America, Elizabethton High School can indeed “Touch This.”
After earning a $200,000 prize and Student Leadership Award, Elizabethton teachers Dustin Hensley and Alex Campbell recently represented the community along with the 12 other schools that were presented awards with from the XQ Super School Project during a meeting of the minds at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The meeting allowed the different schools to collaborate and discuss how their schools are implementing the different plans that were thought of by students.
“It was a great experience getting to meet the other XQ schools and hear about their stories and ideas,” Hensley told the Elizabethton Star. “Despite how different our situations are, there were still many strategies and solutions that are transferable to our school and what we are attempting to accomplish at EHS.”
Students from EHS along with Campbell, Hensley, and teacher Daniel Proffitt were presented the award thanks in part to their idea of “Bartleby School,” which encourages community involvement and entrepreneurship.
The meeting also proved to be a bit surreal, according to Hensley, with former recording artist MC Hammer being part of the event. The famous artist hit critical acclaim for his song “Can’t Touch This” during the 1980s.
“MC Hammer is a board member of XQ,” Hensley said. “He was extremely down to earth and excited about our ideas for transforming high schools in America. He was open to talking to different representatives and swapping thoughts with us.”
With the meeting now under their belts, the teachers are gearing up for the 2017-18 school year, which includes the introduction of two new classes – thanks to the award.
“We have two student cohorts that will be starting the Bartleby classes this school year,” Hensley said. “The fall semester will see the beginning of our Community Improvement class and the spring semester will be when our Entrepreneurship class begins.”
Excitement is just brewing from the school system either, according to the teacher.
“Our students have been emailing all summer asking about updates and wanting to get started in the class,” Hensley said. “You know you’re doing something right when students are positively thinking about school during the summer and can’t wait to start working on their projects.”