Cohort 1 📍 Region 5

Amherst County is where career-connected learning meets Community Schools. Across both Amherst County High School and the Amherst Education Center, the division is working to reduce chronic absenteeism, improve academic performance, and lower discipline referrals. At the high school, students engaged in 354 work-based learning experiences in the first quarter alone, from internships and student-run businesses to supervised agricultural programs and clinical placements. Eleven colleges and universities made on-site visits or hosted field trips, giving students a firsthand look at where those pathways lead. Opening of the new ACHS addition and Community Tailgate drew families, staff, and community partners together across both sites.

At the Amherst Education Center, the division’s alternative program, family engagement has grown through Open House events, monthly art classes, and Brag Day events, an open celebration where students’ progress and achievements take center stage.