By Sadie Hunter
This school year, Noblesville Schools has transformed one of its community programs into something entirely new – Miller Ambassadors.
Formerly serving as the district’s community advisory council, Miller Ambassadors is an outreach program for both parent and non-parent community members and leaders to immerse themselves into the operation of Noblesville Schools.
“We have had, for about 20 years, a group called the community advisory council, and it had been reconceived many times over the years in terms of what its purpose was,” said Marnie Cooke, director of marketing and communications at Noblesville Schools. “At times, the group also was used as a resource for times when we have had referenda or redistricting.”
But Cooke said as the district started looking for ways to refresh bylaws and add more non-parent members of the community to the group, what came was a complete reinvention of the CAC.
“The more we thought it, the more we were like, ‘Let’s think big and just completely reimagine this,’” she said. “If we started with a clean sheet of paper, and we want to engage the community, what could that look like? So, what we came up with was the Miller Ambassadors program.”
Cooke said the district looked to emulate the model of the Hamilton County Leadership Academy on a smaller, schools-focused scale.
“The idea is that we invite approximately 25 people each year, in a class, to participate in this deep-dive learning experience across the district. This year, we invited all the members of the former community advisory council to have first dibs on those spots,” Cooke said. “Participants will get to see the full breadth of the district, elementary, middle school, high school experiences, transportation, food service, extracurricular activities and more. They’re going to have an engaging experience with small-group discussions, hands-on activities, tours, Q&A with leaders; it’s not just going to be in a lecture format. We’re teaching the Ambassadors class by modeling some of the same techniques we use to teach students.”
Now, nearly halfway through its first year, the group’s 25 members have already completed three of six sessions: “#MillerShift – How Noblesville Schools Does Teaching and Learning,” “The Business of Kids – School Finance, HR, School Board and Community Relations,” and “Explore You Passions – Extracurricular Options.”
After the holidays, in 2017, Miller Ambassadors will explore three more topics: “A Strong Foundation of the Basics – Transportation, Food, Facilities and Safety,” “Supporting All Our Learners – Programs for Differentiated Needs” and “Innovators – Classroom to Real World.”
At the end of the sessions, the group will finish the 2016-17 year with a closing retreat, where they will review and reflect on what they’ve learned throughout the program, and will be Miller Ambassadors graduates.
Community leaders interested in becoming part of or learning more about the 2017-18 Miller Ambassadors class can email Cooke at [email protected] or visit noblesvilleschools.org/page/7986.
THE 2016-17 MILLER AMBASSADORS CLASS
- Joe Arrowood, Noblesville Kiwanis
- Brenda Baker, Riverview Health
- Jennifer Beahrs, parent
- Marnie Bennington, parent
- Tara Bushong, parent
- Dan Clark, Ivy Tech of Hamilton County
- Mike Corbett, Hamilton County Business Magazine
- Bob DuBois, Noblesville Chamber of Commerce
- Chuck Goodrich, Gaylor Electric
- Wil Hampton, Noblesville City Council/Noblesville Schools Education Foundation
- Carl Johnson, BSA Lifestructes
- Dave Johnson, Indiana Engineering & Geological Services
- TJ Jordan, parent
- Phyllis Lineberger, Noblesville Senior Citizens Organization
- Lu McKee, St.Vincent Health
- Kriste Ortman, parent
- Laura Paris, parent
- Sarah Reed, City of Noblesville
- Sheri Rice, parent
- Paul Roberts, Noblesville Rotary
- Kristin Smith, parent
- Richell Vaughn, parent
- Edra Waterman, Hamilton East Public Library
- Perry Williams, Noblesville Main Street/Noblesville Lions Club
- Jeff Zeckel, NHS alumni
WHAT IS THE MILLER AMBASSADORS PROGRAM?
Mission statement: The Miller Ambassadors program is an engaging, year-long experience for select Noblesville community leaders and school-district parents to enjoy a deeper understanding of Noblesville Schools.
Program participants are exposed to all facets of running a district, including business management, academic programs, student services, operations and more. They have the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge regarding the functioning of Noblesville Schools, participate in an extended dialogue with leadership on educations issues, and develop an understanding of how Noblesville Schools has created a unique culture of educational excellence that is studied by other high-performing school districts.
Ambassador participants will be student learners experiencing the program, as the district models their engaging and active education techniques throughout the class. Ambassador graduates are partners in sharing Noblesville Schools’ vision throughout the community and will continue to engage with the district through future project teams and input-gathering opportunities.
