Argonaut Partnership
Argonaut and Davis Aerospace Maritime High School share an innovative partnership, co-leading the school’s efforts to not only provide a high-quality educational experience for 9th – 12th graders in the City of Cleveland but to also create and facilitate a career readiness model that fosters students into careers in the field of maritime and aerospace upon graduation. Established in 2017, Cleveland Metropolitan School District and Argonaut partnered together to open Davis A&M and welcome its’ inaugural class of sixty (60) 9th-grade students. Davis A&M provides the core content of the high school experience, ensuring students meeting the requirements for high school graduation. Argonaut provides hands-on engagement in the industry sectors through expanded learning programming, paid internships and work experience, teacher-supported project-based learning, and works to both develop and support CTE credentialing and industry-specific licensing and certification.
Since 2017, Davis Aerospace and Maritime High School, the CMSD school district, and Argonaut have worked together to grow student enrollment to 270 students, shift to a learning pod model during the 18-month covid pandemic, doubled the number of students who participated in year-round internship opportunities, and graduated 53 students. Spending the past year re-navigating back to the traditional in-school model, the partnership is stepping up its’ game in 2022, further clarifying our strategic direction and working together to build even more meaningful opportunities with stronger outcomes.
Davis provides the core high school education and Argonaut provides the thematic industry-specific learning experiences and job training.
Davis / Argonaut Shared Vision
The Davis/Argonaut Shared Vision includes three unwavering goals and beliefs about our shared responsibilities to our families. This framework should guide our approach as a school and inform our decision making and priorities. Members of the Davis and Argonaut team all contribute to the success of the organization in different ways, and they should understand their roles and contributions toward the greater vision of the school. Davis A&M and Argonaut strive to ensure that:
1. Students are effectively prepared for college and career success
Beyond developing deep mastery of academic content, passing standardized exams, and meeting basic state-measured metrics, there are additional skills and habits that students need to truly be prepared for success in the real world. Defined by our Portrait of a Graduate, these skills are developed through rich experiences both in and out of the classroom.
We incorporate thematic connections to aerospace and maritime because: student interest/curiosity is leveraged, available resources can be maximized, it creates coherence between classes and across years. Aerospace and maritime experiences provide high-interest arenas in which to become aware of these skills and practice developing and applying them.
2. Students have exposure to, refinement of, and selection of a post-secondary plan
For post-secondary pursuits to involve choices, students and their families must be both well-informed and well-prepared. The best plans match students’ experiences, interests, and skills with their dreams for adulthood. It is our responsibility to enrich these elements and help students dream.
Students go through a progression of aerospace and maritime experiences that begin with broad exposure and eventually evolve into customized opportunities that support the development of an individualized post-secondary plan. These experiences are transferable to both aerospace and maritime and non-aerospace and maritime pathways.
3. Students feel like they matter and belong in this world
To fully benefit from the school program, students must believe that school matters to them, and that they matter to the school. Strong relationships and a sense of belonging are critical to the development of an academic mindset and belief that what the school provides is worth taking advantage of.
Aerospace and maritime experiences allow students to excel with their peers in areas that they are passionate about, that are authentically connected to the real world. These experiences build community, reinforce the value of school, and set them up for smooth transitions into post-secondary futures.
Tiered Thematic Framework
