District Focus

Center Line Public Schools, with support from the Macomb County Department of Planning & Economic Development and Ford NGL, was proud to announce in the spring of 2021 that our district had been designated as a Ford Next Generation Learning Community!

This journey began in 2015 when the district strategic planning team developed a goal that every student graduates from high school with an industry-recognized certification and/or post-secondary credit.  Through research and development of an action plan, the high school was transformed into the Academies of Center Line in the fall of 2016,  becoming the first high school in Macomb County to have wall-to-wall career academies.

Students enter high school as part of the Freshman Academy.  The focus of this small learning community is to help all ninth graders transition to high school and explore various career fields, strengths, and interests.  Near the end of ninth grade, students choose a pathway of study within one of our two career academies – the Industry, Technology & Innovation Academy or the Health and Human Services Academy.  Students take courses through a lens of a career field and work to build a resume and portfolio of certifications, job shadows, and business experiences to display the Center Line graduate profile skills of collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and leadership.

In 2019, Center Line Public Schools was awarded Michigan’s Marshall Plan for Talent Grant, and we began our quest to become a Ford NGL Community.  The organization is comprised of a network of mutually supportive communities around the country who have transformed their high schools into career academies and work to transform the teaching and learning throughout their district classrooms.  Ford NGL helps communities prepare the future scientists, inventors, public servants, and entrepreneurs who will apply their passion and expertise to improving the world for both their generation and those to come. 

A new strategic planning cycle brought school, community, and business stakeholders together with a commitment from the Macomb County Planning and Economic Development Team to support the district in writing and implementing a strategic plan for the next 3-5 years to enhance the opportunities for our students K-12.  This plan was submitted and accepted by Ford NGL, therefore earning the district the Ford NGL Community designation.   

This strategic plan aims at transforming the student learning experience, transforming the culture, systems, and structures of schools and transforming partnerships between the school and businesses, postsecondary institutions, and the community.  Through inquiry, we want our early learners and elementary students to discover the world around them and various career fields, middle school students to explore interests in different career areas, ninth graders to explore career interests more deeply while they transition to choose a career academy, and our tenth through twelfth graders to experience learning through the lens of a career pathway.  Four tactical teams will focus on further developing the following areas to enhance the preK-12 educational journey in Center Line:

• K-12 Career Exploration
• Business Engagement
• Freshman Academy
• Communication and Marketing
   

The strategic plan sets the overall vision for what learning looks and feels like in Center Line Public Schools while developing the structures to make the vision a reality.  The district and school level improvement plans focus in on two specific instructional strategies to help us meet our goal of all students demonstrating proficiency in the district core academic and Graduate Profile competencies.