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A number of Troy City Schools administrators were on hand for the Third Annual Trojan Talk to speak about the direction the school system has been headed in over the past year.

Troy City Schools Instructional Support Coordinator Dr. Joanna Taylor said that it’s the school system’s mission to provide “a world class education” for the children of Troy.

“At the end of the day, what we want to do at Troy City Schools is to provide a world class education to every student every day and that takes everybody working together, including community stakeholders,” Taylor said. “Our work begins and ends with teachers and students, that’s what it’s about everyday. We try to focus very hard on hiring excellent teachers and retaining them.”

Taylor pointed out that TCS has gone from just one reading instructional coach for K-3 to six instructional coaches district wide working with K-12 students in the areas of reading and math.

“What they do is help our teachers look at that student data and see what are their strengths that they need to build on and areas of weakness that we need to focus on,” Taylor said.

Taylor also discussed the improvements that are happening throughout the school system in the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Recently, the school system received a $200,000 grant for an augmented holographic reality program that will allow students to use it for dissections in science class along with other uses in science and math. The school also received a $50,000 grant for the CHMS Manufacturing Program to purchase a CNC Mill Trainer, which will allow students to learn milling hands-on.

Troy Elementary School Principal Teresa Sims mentioned that the school’s enrollment has increased from 940 to 1,004 students. Sims also discussed the many enrichment and extracurricular opportunities that TES students have, which includes visual arts, archery, ensemble choir, music and even a Pre-K physical education program. TES also offers after-school tutoring and summer learning camps.

“We are very fortunate to have many resources to support excellent instruction and enrichment opportunities for our students,” Sims said. “However, the most important resources we have are the people in the building that come every day and teach and care for our children.”

Over at Charles Henderson Middle School, plenty of emphasis is being placed on the previously mentioned STEM programs.

“STEM is a hot topic in today’s society,” CHMS Principal Aaron Brown said. “We’re now teaching our students that if you follow that path there are a lot of job opportunities. We have a STEM lab and we also have a robotics lab.”

Sims said that there is now a VEX flooring area which simulates the type of robotics field that students would be competing in at major robotics competitions.

Charles Henderson High School Principal Lise Fayson said that 2022-2023 has been one of the most successful school years in the school’s long history. She mentioned the vast amount of success that the athletic programs have enjoyed this season but also spoke about the achievements that have been made in the classroom.

“Academically, last year we had 29 passing scores in AP courses, which resulted in 29 free college credits for our graduates and juniors,” Fayson said. “Last year we had our first dual enrollment student receive an associates degree upon graduation and right now, we are on track to graduate two more students that will receive an associates degree.”

In the past year, CHHS has received the A+ College Ready School of Excellence Award and won the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award in both the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.

Fayson said that next week, 10 CHHS students that have completed the school’s Manufacturing and Ready-to-Work Program will be interviewing with Lockheed Martin for the opportunity to have a job at the plant fresh after graduating.

On the athletics side, CHHS saw an unprecedented level of success with the football team and men’s basketball teams both earning state runner-up honors, while the women’s basketball team also made yet another Final Four appearance. It doesn’t end there, either. A total of 17 athletes have earned full-ride scholarships this school year and three have signed on with military branches.

“Nothing that we do can be successful without our administration,” CHHS Athletic Director Quinn Hambrite said. “The biggest thing with athletics at CHHS is the multi-sport athletes. We have to share our athletes in order to be successful.”

Hambrite emphasized that the success at the high school level starts at the middle school level, where the CHMS football team is coming off an undefeated season, as well.

“That helps us a lot because when you breed winners and they come into a system already winning then they get used to winning,” Hambrite said. “It’s habitual, similar to losing. If you have a losing mentality beforehand it becomes habitual just like winning does.”

For more information on the opportunities provided at Troy City Schools, visit www.troyschools.net.