Academies Trainings

All Nashville Hub trainings are led by our trusted practitioners and are customized to meet the needs of your community team. Whether you prefer an in-person setting or a synchronous, online experience, the Nashville Hub can design a training solution that meets your needs. If you don't see something that meets your needs, please contact info@nashvillehub.org, and we can work with you to develop a training for your specific needs.

Academy 2.0 Development

Ready  to move beyond initial implementation and take your acadey work to the next level? Our Academy 2.0 Development training is designed for communities with 3-5 years of full academy model experience, seeking to elevate their efforts  through continuous improvement and transformative innovation. This facilitated workshop provides a strategic space to assess your current academy work, identify areas for growth, and collaboratively design  innovative solutions. While customizable to your specific needs, many communities leverage this training to develop robust Academy Guiding Principles and a comprehensive Academy Assessment Tool for effective progress monitoring. It's your opportunity to refine, enhance, and ensure the long-term success of your academy model.

Academy Coach Training

This training is designed for Academy Coaches and school leaders responsible for leading and sustaining academy implementation in their schools. Participants will learn to serve as key liaisons between district, school, business, and civic partners, ensuring strong alignment and collaboration among all stakeholders. Academy Coaches play a central role in guiding schools through the transition to the academy model. This training will build the skills, strategies, and understanding needed to:

  • Lead with clarity and purpose, ensuring implementation aligns with district vision and the National Standards of Practice (NSOP).
  • Collaborate effectively with administrators and implementation teams to develop and execute strategic implementation plans.
  • Support teacher leaders in creating strong academy teams and advancing transformational, career-connected instruction.
  • Engage business and community partners to facilitate authentic, high-quality work-based learning and student experiences.
  • Monitor progress toward NCAC Accreditation, maintaining fidelity to all Ten National Standards of Practice.
Format Options
  • One-Day Overview: Focus on foundational understanding, role clarity, and immediate next steps for early implementation.
  • Two-Day Deep Dive: Includes extended application, collaborative planning time, and facilitation of coaching and leadership practices for sustained success.

Academy Counselor Training

The  Academy Counselor training challenges the professional school counselor to  consider the impact of the school’s transformation to the career academy  model on their role. The counselor explores questions like: How will this  impact my day-to-day work? What is different between what I’ve been doing and  what I will be doing? How do I fit within the change; and, more importantly,  how do I positively contribute to the transformation while supporting  students at the highest level? Through this one-day training,  counselors--with academy administrators and school administrators also  encouraged to attend--will receive an introduction to the academy model,  cross-walk the ASCA and NCAC standards with a focus on the counselor’s  responsibilities, and then develop their own resources to support their  academy’s specific needs for immediate roll-out and support of school  transformation.

Academy Identity

In this half of a two-part training, academy teams will work together to develop an academy event that builds academy identity through interdisciplinary, standards-based instruction. Academy members will leave the training with a plan for implementing this event. The plan will include: garnering community and parent engagement, connections to the Academy’s unique career theme(s), a calendar for implementation, establishment of roles and responsibilities, and other elements of a successful event that highlights students’ learning and builds community. This training is an outstanding springboard for building an academy identity and culture among teachers, students, and other stakeholders.

Administrator/Leader Training

The Administrator/Leadership Training training will produce the following outcomes:

  • Overview of the academy schedule and the importance of equity for both teachers and students.
  • Selecting and onboarding academy team leaders.
  • The importance of student/teacher relationships and activities.
  • Facilitating a highly effective team and the role of the administrator.
  • Agenda and SMART goal setting.
  • Monitoring team performance.
  • Public relation ideas.

Ambassador Training

Ambassador  Training for School Staff: This training is an opportunity for schools to  explore an orientation for newly appointed Ambassadors. Participants will  learn fundamental components of student ambassadorship, and develop a customized framework for training effective ambassadors. These skills  include: mastery of academy specific vocabulary, school tours, professionalism, and personal narratives. Additionally, this training will explore continued student ambassador enrichment throughout the school year. This training is scalable, allowing for one school or multiple school participation. Participants should leave with the knowledge and skills to  implement a new ambassador orientation, as well as the skills to continue ambassador development throughout the year.

Student  Ambassador Training: In this hands-on training, students explore and practice  important components and skills of the Student Ambassador role. These skills include: mastery of academy specific vocabulary, school tours,  professionalism, and personal narratives. Students should leave the training  with a fundamental knowledge of the role of an Ambassador. This training is scalable, and can be used for one school or as a training for students from multiple schools.

Career Academies 101

Embark  on your journey into the transformative world of the academy model with  Career Academies 101. This foundatiional training begins with the essential "Why," inviting participants to reflect on thier unique school and  community needs and aspirations, ensuring a deeply rooted understanding of  the model's purpose. You'll gain clarity on the distinct advantages of a wall-to-wall academy structure compared to traditional CTE programs, and delve into the profound  benefits of community-connected learning in reshaping the secondary school experience. Participants will identify the critical systems, structures, processes, and competencies required for successful academy implementation. Finally, this collaborative workshop provides a dedicated space for communities to apply their learning, align their current high school structure with the academy model, and develop concrete next steps towards potential implementation. Career Academies 101 also serves as an invaluable resource for onboarding new staff, ensuring a shared understanding and commitment to the academy vision during ongoing implementation.

Career Exploration Fair 101

This one-day training is for those interested in facilitating a Career Exploration Fair, either virtually or in-person, at their school, a multi-school, or a  district level. Participants will learn about business partner recruitment practices, student engagement and preparation opportunities, and event  organization. This training ties in well with schools offering Freshman Seminar to ninth-grade students but can be used outside of it. Participants  will leave with the framework to organize their own Career Exploration Fair event.

Distributive Leadership in the Academy Model

Developing a deep understanding of the reasons behind the academy model and what it can bring to schools, teachers and staff, and most importantly students, is at  the heart of this training. It is designed to introduce district and academy leaders to the guiding principles of the academy model and the evolution of  roles when building a distributive leadership culture. The concepts of scheduling, effective teaming, data driven decision making, utilizing advisory boards, and supporting project-based learning through the lens of the administrator are also discussed. During this one or two day training, leaders learn what to look for in selecting academy principals, counselors, teachers, and team leaders and how to build systems that onboard, develop, support, and monitor their academy teams without taking over their meetings.

Deliverables include: Overview of academy scheduling, Equity for both teachers and students, Philosophy and best practices for leading academies to implement with fidelity, Distributive Leadership roles and responsibilities, Fundamental approaches to supporting an academy, Developing leadership pipelines, Selecting and onboarding academy teams, The importance of student/teacher relationships and activities, Facilitating a highly effective team and the role of the administrator, Agenda and SMART goal setting, Ideas  and successful practices for continuous improvement monitoring of team  performance, Public relations ideas, Advisory Boards and the role of the administrator.

Experiential Learning for Teachers

Experiential learning is learning through actions, doing and experience. This training will focus on both students and teachers in a classroom setting beginning to learn from each other in using a semi-structured classroom environment approach by using experiences, projects and more hands-on learning to give students experience in real-world applications and situations.

Externship Training

An engaged student is a present student in your classroom. Too often are our students preparing and entering the w​​orkforce without the durable skills and didactic knowledge necessary to navigate high-quality, high-wage positions, and post-secondary. Teachers and Business Partners are the catalyst to increase learning experiences that connect students to their learning, prepare students for college and career opportunities, increase graduation, and equipping students with competitive employability and post-secondary skills that positively impact the workforce. The Externship Training provides a guide for teachers to reimagine their curriculum through the lens of real-world industry practices to improve rigor, relevance, and sustained learning. How are you transforming the students’ critical thinking skills and knowledge into industry practitioners?

Freshman Academy Consultation

Consultancy in developing, implementing, and sustaining Freshman Academies is the scope of this offering. It will include leading a collective group through exploration of the model, showing successful practices that have been implemented in Nashville, and staging and sequencing what a community wants to implement. Documents and videos will be shared as part of the consultancy.

Freshman Seminar/Freshman Seminar 1 Day Workshop:

Freshman Seminar focuses on the transition of ninth graders to prepare them for success in high school, post-secondary education and careers. Learn how to prepare students focus on learning more about themselves and their interests and aptitude as well as learning study skills, life skills, employability/professional skills, and career knowledge. Learn how to customize around the career pathways students will be choosing in their high school or tech center after ninth grade. This course begins by focusing on how to direct students to explore, gain understanding about the career itself as well as the courses in the pathway that lead to those careers through a blended learning experience.

Implementing Freshman Seminar allows students dedicated time to focus on their future, understand what it takes to be successful in high school, post-secondary and careers. They make educated choices about their pathways based on research and experiences, and they begin to understand why some of the content courses are important for their success.

This training can be modified and is available as a multi-day consultation to begin implementing Freshman Seminar or can be completed as an initial 1-day workshop to begin discussions around Freshman Seminar or as a “refresher” to schools with existing Freshman Seminar programs.

Interdisciplinary Planning

The goals for Interdisciplinary Planning include: identifying concepts and skills students will master, determining summative assessment(s) focused on mastery of the standards and skills, crafting a driving question that focuses the learning, determining formative assessments, and determining a learning progression and instructional activities.

Interdisciplinary Teaming for Academies (ITA)

-THE TWO DAY TRAINING- Teams start by developing identity and establishing productive, professional relationships that maximize individual’s strengths. Teachers create a vision for their ideal team and student graduate that culminates in the posting of team norms and Academy mission statement. Teacher teams will use their established mission statement and norms to guide their work toward developing sample Academy and team SMART Goals aligned to teaming focuses: teaming processes, standards-based interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and responsive academic interventions. Teacher teams will then brainstorm about an Academy-specific event that celebrates student growth and achievement based on student data, involves community and business engagement, and builds Academy identity and ownership. Finally, teacher teams will explore data-driven student intervention protocols and lay the foundation for interdisciplinary instruction. The training culminates with each team conducting an abbreviated mock team meeting.

-THE THREE DAY TRAINING - Starts with teams developing identity and establishing productive, professional relationships that maximize individual’s strengths. Teachers will create a vision for their ideal team and student graduate that culminates in the posting of team norms and Academy mission statement. On the second day of training, teacher teams will use their established mission statement and norms to guide their work toward developing Academy and team SMART Goals aligned to teaming focuses: teaming processes, standards-based interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and responsive academic interventions. Teacher teams will then create a plan for an Academy-specific event that celebrates student growth and achievement based on student data, involves community and business engagement, and builds Academy identity and ownership. On the third day, teacher teams will develop a structure for data-driven student interventions and lay the foundation for integrating interdisciplinary skills and themed content into daily classroom instruction. The training culminates with each team conducting a mock team meeting.

Master Scheduling

The complexities of building an academy master schedule can be overwhelming, especially for those with little or no master scheduling experience. This workshop provides participants with the understanding of how educational philosophy is just as important as planning and process when developing an academy master schedule. The mechanics of building the master schedule for cohort scheduling allowing for common planning time is covered.

Progress Monitoring for Fidelity of Academy Implementation

Progress Monitoring for Interdisciplinary Teaming for Academies (ITA)

Project Based Learning Splash: Administrators

This PBL Splash professional development is designed to provide district & school administrators with an introduction to project-based learning. Participants will leave with an understanding of the differences between just “doing projects” and Project Based Learning. In addition, participants will be able to learn “look fors” to know if the teachers are teaching using the design principles of PBL. Learning Outcomes for Administrators: 1. Identify characteristics of a Project Based Learning classroom. 2. Demonstrate an understanding of the key design considerations of Project Based Learning. 3. Discuss PBL classrooms look fors based on the project design rubric. 4. Articulate actions steps to ensure the support of the implementation of the key design considerations

Project Based Learning for Academies, Middle Schools and Elementary Schools

The Nashville Hub's Project-Based Learning (PBL) training empowers teachers to design transformational instructional units where students demonstrate mastery by applying content standards to create authentic products. This immersive training mirrors the PBL experience itself, challenging participants to develop a complete unit while actively engaging with the core components of effective project design.

A key focus can be on uniting academy teachers, bringing both CTE and general education instructors together to collaborate on meaningful,  interdisciplinary projects, or teachers can plan an independent unit. Through an inquiry-based approach, you'll learn to navigate all phases of  implementation, from project management to assessment. By the end of the session, you'll shrae your final project, receive valuable feedback, and refine it for immediate use in your classroom. Districts can even involve local business partners in the planning process for an added layer of real-world authenticity.

Choose the format that best suits your needs:

-Two-day face-to-face session:  Build your project, with an optional third day of feedback (virtual or in-person)

-Three-day face-to-face session: Enjoy extended work time and present your project to a public audience.

Regardless of the option, you'll leave with a ready-to-implement project for your students and a deep understanding of:

-The crucial distinction between a true PBL experience and simply "doing projects"

-The essential components of PBL and how to ensure your projects are authentic and aligned with content standards

-The value of providing students with diverse ways to demonstrate content mastery

-Effective strategies for managing a project in the classroom without chaos

-Methods for assessing projects using multiple sources

-How to leverage PBL resources to create robust unit plans

Project Based Learning: Splash

The PBL Splash professional development is designed to provide all content area teachers with an introduction to PBL. Participants will leave with an understanding of the differences between just “doing projects” and Project Based Learning. In addition, participants will be involved in discovering how to move towards a more student-centered classroom by demonstrating an understanding of the key design considerations of PBL instruction.

Teaching Through the Lens

An instructional method where general education teachers (ex: math, English science and social studies) teaches their content standards using the industry theme of the academy. Using application, context or examples, teachers help students understand how their content standards come alive in the world of work. This can be done simply with a hook (entry event) at the beginning of a unit or introduction to a new standard or topic or it can be a deeper application where students create authentic products using content standards in the application of real-world work. General education teachers should ask themselves, "how is this content standard used or applied in industry?"

Teaching on the Block

Teachers—individually and in teams—will overcome many of the challenges of teaching in the modern classroom. From building a toolbox of instructional strategies to working in content (or interdisciplinary) teams to develop and deliver high-quality instruction aligned to standards, teachers will learn to maximize every moment of classroom instruction. With a focus on creating depth of skill and content knowledge through scaffolding and chunking, using proven organizational tools, transitioning with ease, integrating technology for student engagement and assessment, and accessing a variety of learning modalities, the trainer will lead teachers toward mastery of the instructional period by modeling those same tools during this one-day training.

Team Leader Training

This training will give teacher leaders tools for leading their teams through inevitable reactions to change. Team Leaders will develop an understanding of the stages of teaming and strategies for building a culture that values continuous improvement. They will learn how to the distribute leadership, in order to empower members and develop a sense of ownership. They will learn about the Team Planning Template and its relationship to the National Standards of Practice. In addition, they will learn to set goals, prioritize them, document progress toward achieving them, and assess their outcomes. They will develop leadership strategies and facilitation skills that will make them effective leaders in their teams.

Career Academies 101

Embark  on your journey into the transformative world of the academy model with  Career Academies 101. This foundatiional training begins with the essential "Why," inviting participants to reflect on thier unique school and  community needs and aspirations, ensuring a deeply rooted understanding of  the model's purpose. You'll gain clarity on the distinct advantages of a wall-to-wall academy structure compared to traditional CTE programs, and delve into the profound  benefits of community-connected learning in reshaping the secondary school experience. Participants will identify the critical systems, structures, processes, and competencies required for successful academy implementation. Finally, this collaborative workshop provides a dedicated space for communities to apply their learning, align their current high school structure with the academy model, and develop concrete next steps towards potential implementation. Career Academies 101 also serves as an invaluable resource for onboarding new staff, ensuring a shared understanding and commitment to the academy vision during ongoing implementation.

Interdisciplinary Teaming for Academies (ITA)

-THE TWO DAY TRAINING- Teams start by developing identity and establishing productive, professional relationships that maximize individual’s strengths. Teachers create a vision for their ideal team and student graduate that culminates in the posting of team norms and Academy mission statement. Teacher teams will use their established mission statement and norms to guide their work toward developing sample Academy and team SMART Goals aligned to teaming focuses: teaming processes, standards-based interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and responsive academic interventions. Teacher teams will then brainstorm about an Academy-specific event that celebrates student growth and achievement based on student data, involves community and business engagement, and builds Academy identity and ownership. Finally, teacher teams will explore data-driven student intervention protocols and lay the foundation for interdisciplinary instruction. The training culminates with each team conducting an abbreviated mock team meeting.

-THE THREE DAY TRAINING - Starts with teams developing identity and establishing productive, professional relationships that maximize individual’s strengths. Teachers will create a vision for their ideal team and student graduate that culminates in the posting of team norms and Academy mission statement. On the second day of training, teacher teams will use their established mission statement and norms to guide their work toward developing Academy and team SMART Goals aligned to teaming focuses: teaming processes, standards-based interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and responsive academic interventions. Teacher teams will then create a plan for an Academy-specific event that celebrates student growth and achievement based on student data, involves community and business engagement, and builds Academy identity and ownership. On the third day, teacher teams will develop a structure for data-driven student interventions and lay the foundation for integrating interdisciplinary skills and themed content into daily classroom instruction. The training culminates with each team conducting a mock team meeting.

Master Scheduling

The complexities of building an academy master schedule can be overwhelming, especially for those with little or no master scheduling experience. This workshop provides participants with the understanding of how educational philosophy is just as important as planning and process when developing an academy master schedule. The mechanics of building the master schedule for cohort scheduling allowing for common planning time is covered.

Project Based Learning for Academies, Middle Schools and Elementary Schools

The Nashville Hub's Project-Based Learning (PBL) training empowers teachers to design transformational instructional units where students demonstrate mastery by applying content standards to create authentic products. This immersive training mirrors the PBL experience itself, challenging participants to develop a complete unit while actively engaging with the core components of effective project design.

A key focus can be on uniting academy teachers, bringing both CTE and general education instructors together to collaborate on meaningful,  interdisciplinary projects, or teachers can plan an independent unit. Through an inquiry-based approach, you'll learn to navigate all phases of  implementation, from project management to assessment. By the end of the session, you'll shrae your final project, receive valuable feedback, and refine it for immediate use in your classroom. Districts can even involve local business partners in the planning process for an added layer of real-world authenticity.

Choose the format that best suits your needs:

-Two-day face-to-face session:  Build your project, with an optional third day of feedback (virtual or in-person)

-Three-day face-to-face session: Enjoy extended work time and present your project to a public audience.

Regardless of the option, you'll leave with a ready-to-implement project for your students and a deep understanding of:

-The crucial distinction between a true PBL experience and simply "doing projects"

-The essential components of PBL and how to ensure your projects are authentic and aligned with content standards

-The value of providing students with diverse ways to demonstrate content mastery

-Effective strategies for managing a project in the classroom without chaos

-Methods for assessing projects using multiple sources

-How to leverage PBL resources to create robust unit plans

Teaching on the Block

Teachers—individually and in teams—will overcome many of the challenges of teaching in the modern classroom. From building a toolbox of instructional strategies to working in content (or interdisciplinary) teams to develop and deliver high-quality instruction aligned to standards, teachers will learn to maximize every moment of classroom instruction. With a focus on creating depth of skill and content knowledge through scaffolding and chunking, using proven organizational tools, transitioning with ease, integrating technology for student engagement and assessment, and accessing a variety of learning modalities, the trainer will lead teachers toward mastery of the instructional period by modeling those same tools during this one-day training.

Academy Coach Training

This training is designed for Academy Coaches and school leaders responsible for leading and sustaining academy implementation in their schools. Participants will learn to serve as key liaisons between district, school, business, and civic partners, ensuring strong alignment and collaboration among all stakeholders. Academy Coaches play a central role in guiding schools through the transition to the academy model. This training will build the skills, strategies, and understanding needed to:

  • Lead with clarity and purpose, ensuring implementation aligns with district vision and the National Standards of Practice (NSOP).
  • Collaborate effectively with administrators and implementation teams to develop and execute strategic implementation plans.
  • Support teacher leaders in creating strong academy teams and advancing transformational, career-connected instruction.
  • Engage business and community partners to facilitate authentic, high-quality work-based learning and student experiences.
  • Monitor progress toward NCAC Accreditation, maintaining fidelity to all Ten National Standards of Practice.
Format Options
  • One-Day Overview: Focus on foundational understanding, role clarity, and immediate next steps for early implementation.
  • Two-Day Deep Dive: Includes extended application, collaborative planning time, and facilitation of coaching and leadership practices for sustained success.

Academy Counselor Training

The  Academy Counselor training challenges the professional school counselor to  consider the impact of the school’s transformation to the career academy  model on their role. The counselor explores questions like: How will this  impact my day-to-day work? What is different between what I’ve been doing and  what I will be doing? How do I fit within the change; and, more importantly,  how do I positively contribute to the transformation while supporting  students at the highest level? Through this one-day training,  counselors--with academy administrators and school administrators also  encouraged to attend--will receive an introduction to the academy model,  cross-walk the ASCA and NCAC standards with a focus on the counselor’s  responsibilities, and then develop their own resources to support their  academy’s specific needs for immediate roll-out and support of school  transformation.

Administrator/Leader Training

The Administrator/Leadership Training training will produce the following outcomes:

  • Overview of the academy schedule and the importance of equity for both teachers and students.
  • Selecting and onboarding academy team leaders.
  • The importance of student/teacher relationships and activities.
  • Facilitating a highly effective team and the role of the administrator.
  • Agenda and SMART goal setting.
  • Monitoring team performance.
  • Public relation ideas.

Ambassador Training

Ambassador  Training for School Staff: This training is an opportunity for schools to  explore an orientation for newly appointed Ambassadors. Participants will  learn fundamental components of student ambassadorship, and develop a customized framework for training effective ambassadors. These skills  include: mastery of academy specific vocabulary, school tours, professionalism, and personal narratives. Additionally, this training will explore continued student ambassador enrichment throughout the school year. This training is scalable, allowing for one school or multiple school participation. Participants should leave with the knowledge and skills to  implement a new ambassador orientation, as well as the skills to continue ambassador development throughout the year.

Student  Ambassador Training: In this hands-on training, students explore and practice  important components and skills of the Student Ambassador role. These skills include: mastery of academy specific vocabulary, school tours,  professionalism, and personal narratives. Students should leave the training  with a fundamental knowledge of the role of an Ambassador. This training is scalable, and can be used for one school or as a training for students from multiple schools.

Team Leader Training

This training will give teacher leaders tools for leading their teams through inevitable reactions to change. Team Leaders will develop an understanding of the stages of teaming and strategies for building a culture that values continuous improvement. They will learn how to the distribute leadership, in order to empower members and develop a sense of ownership. They will learn about the Team Planning Template and its relationship to the National Standards of Practice. In addition, they will learn to set goals, prioritize them, document progress toward achieving them, and assess their outcomes. They will develop leadership strategies and facilitation skills that will make them effective leaders in their teams.

Let’s talk about how Nashville Hub can help you!

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