The Community Schools of Frankfort Board approved the implementation of a new biotech pathway in partnership with Eli Lilly expected to prepare students for a career with Lilly upon graduation.
The biotech pathway is slated to replace the current Project Lead the Way pathway to offer increased benefits for the students at Frankfort High School. Superintendent Dr. Matt Rhoda commented that the school has been in contact with Ivy Tech and Lilly representatives to formulate the new pathway that will act as a dual credit course and a step toward employment at Lilly.
“Lilly will fund the training of the science teacher to go through the training because in order to teach a dual credit, you’ve got to teach the college-level courses, so they will fund that teacher to go through that training, they will fund the equipment that will be needed to start that,” Rhoda said. “The nice thing about this is that we will phase out Project Lead the Way, and we will phase this in–this biotech Ivy Tech course. It’s another pathway that we’ll teach at Frankfort High School, but it will be available for any of our county school kids to attend at Frankfort High School.”
Principal Cindy Long expressed that the biotech pathway will replace the Project Lead the Way pathway due to the expected increase of benefits as well as the similarities between the two programs. Long stated that the participants will receive a certificate from the course that will prove the students’ credentials for upcoming jobs posted at the Lilly branches, and she commented that the new developments on the Lilly campus in Lebanon will provide an opportunity for graduates of the program to pursue their career closer to Frankfort.
“With the opportunity to partner with Lilly and jobs opening up in Lebanon for students that have these direct credits, we felt like it was a more responsible move to move from our Project Lead the Way to this Ivy Tech standing where our kids are walking away with the exact credentials that Lilly is asking for,” Long said. “There is an easy way to move kids from Project Lead the Way to this new biotech plan. It’s very similar, and that Project Lead the Way pathway is strong.”
Lilly announced that 12 schools will be contacted as a hub for the program, and Frankfort High School acts as the first school selected to approve the course. Lilly mentioned that it will offer around 97 scholarships for students that excel in the course. The scholarships will help fund the students’ secondary education opportunities as well as offer a guaranteed internship at Lilly. Long commented that the benefits of the program align distinctly with the mindsets of the students at Frankfort High School, and she believes that the students following the Project Lead the Way pathway will seamlessly transition into the biotech pathway.
“Our students are definitely invigorated by the idea of ‘how is this going to pay off for me?,’” Long said. “They want to see that immediate gratification, so being able to make a tie to Lilly and these direct credentials that we feel like could get them jobs very close to home within the new facility in Lebanon, we feel like it will be extremely marketable. I think that they’ll be very interested.”
The board approved the pathway unanimously, and Frankfort High School will begin placing students into the biotech pathway and phasing Project Lead the Way out of the corporation.