Dr. Michael Nasra wanted his students to connect to the real world.
That is why Nasra, the principal at Kingwood High, let his students tell the story at Partnership Lake Houston’s Kingwood BizCom April 14 at Kingwood High.
“We see ourselves as the ‘hub’ of Kingwood because we get to impact and influence so many students and families,” Nasra said before he introduced the students. “We see ourselves as designers of authentic learning experiences and we want to immerse you in what that means so that you feel confident about what we are providing here and how it can impact your business in a positive way.”
Nasra has “branded” the program as the Kingwood Moonshot, pointing out the “tiny home” being built on the lot behind the school.
“We have partnered with veterans and are building tiny homes to allow for their living quarters. A huge effort, but our students are the designers, the architects, the engineers, the actual construction managers,” Nasra said. “They are not drawing renderings on a piece of paper to turn in for a grade. They are connecting to the real world.”
This is where the Kingwood businesses come in, Nasra said to the mostly business-oriented crowd at the BizCom, as Kingwood High “…casts its Moonshot.”
“I have the pleasure of working with an amazing group of young people,” said Assistant Principal Courtney Peterson who then described how the business community can help students receive personalized, hands-on and minds-on experience.
“Career/Technical Education (CTE) students are currently in the Moonshot program. They have the opportunity during school to connect with the industry that they are interested in engaging with after high school,” Peterson said. “We want to eventually expand the opportunity to all students.”
The students explained how the goal is for all Kingwood High graduates to have some exposure to their preferred career interest whether that be through an internship, job shadowing or a day in an industry where they could view a position in action.
The students gave the example of a current student who spends two class periods a day two days a week at Kingwood Park High where she is taught how to apply the competencies she is learning into the role of a teacher. She then goes to an elementary school which she is a teaching assistant.
Besides the real-world experience, Kingwood Moonshot includes days when students can spend an entire day shadowing someone in a career they have chosen, participate in mock interviews with industry partners, and attend resume writing workshops.
Currently, 292 students are in the program, 104 industries and 184 colleges have partnered with the school and 165 internships are available.
To become a community partner, sites.google.com/humbleisd.net/khsmoonshot/home.
