New Albany Schools’ Innovative IMPACTO stresses career readiness

IMPACTO (Industries as a Means to Prepare for Academic, Career, & Technology Opportunities) is an innovative, pilot program developed by the New Albany School District. IMPACTO provides Career Readiness classes to students and prepares them for a summer internship.

Students in the program are being exposed to a variety of careers in the different career pathways as part of their Career Readiness course work. Suzy Bowman, the Career Coach for the New Albany School District, is helping plan and facilitate activities for the Career Readiness classes.

The IMPACTO program is partially funded by the Toyota Wellspring Fund, which is administered by the CREATE Foundation.

Robert Garrett addresses New Albany HS students

Information Technology: Robert Garrett, Network Administrator for the New Albany School District, recently spoke to students in the IMPACTO program at New Albany High School. Garrett was the featured speaker for the lesson on “Careers in Information Technology.”

Law Enforcement: Liliana Castillo, with the New Albany Police Department, spoke to students in the IMPACTO program at New Albany High School on September 26. Castillo discussed her career path from the standpoint of being a female, as well as serving the Hispanic community in being bilingual. Her story of how she became a police officer was impressive.

NAPD’s Liliana Castillo addresses students on law Enforcement.

Calendar Skills: Students in the IMPACTO program at New Albany High School have recently been learning about calendar skills and the importance of time management and planning. Calendars were provided by community ner BNA Bank to help with these activities.

IMPACTO students learning Calendar Skills, including time management.

The importance of planning is stressed in Calendar Skills.

Manufacturing: Students in the IMPACTO (Industries as a Means to Prepare for Academic, Career, & Technology Opportunities) program at New Albany High School participated in a student tour at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi on August 22. During the tour, students learned about the history of Toyota Mississippi and its facility, observed the manufacturing and production process, and learned about Toyota’s commitment to the community.

front row l-r: Vanessa Castillo; Suzy Bowman, Career Coach; and Eli Osgood; back row l-r: Rodney Spears, Career & Technical Director; Malcolm Steele; Baker Smith; Jordan Kelly; Ruth Montgomery; Haley Holston; Akayla Martin; Jacob Hogue; E’laysha Hatch

Leadership Skills: Steven Paul and Rob Hodges from Metal Impact have been speaking to the IMPACTO class each week at New Albany High School. They provided each student with a book and journal to go along with the