2023 Excellence in Manufacturing K-12 Partnership Award honoree Elizabeth Kust of the N.E.W. School of Innovation joins co-hosts Ann Franz of the Northeast Wisconsin Manufacturing Alliance and Kate Bruns of Insight on Manufacturing magazine on this week’s episode of the NEW Manufacturing Insights podcast, sponsored throughout the month of June by Wisconsin Paper Group.
The N.E.W. School of Innovation is a charter school program working on the campus of Northeast Wisconsin Technical College to provide an alternative learning environment for students in grades 7-12.
On the podcast, Kust — a teacher at the N.E.W. School — discusses the challenges of operating a charter school, the rewards of partnering with NWTC, and how the program has developed community and business relationships to enhance its programming.
With a 15:1 student-faculty ratio, Kust says N.E.W. School of Innovation’s environment allows teachers to develop close relationships with students.
“We’re small; we know the students really well. Students often have the same teachers multiple times through the year, so they get to know the teachers and the staff,” she tells the podcast co-hosts. “That is a really cool piece that I think a lot of kids need; they need to feel seen and heard, but they also need to know … people notice me and they want me to succeed.”
The Excellence in Manufacturing K-12 Partnership Awards are presented annually by NEWMA on the eve of the Manufacturing First Expo & Conference.
NEW Manufacturing Insights is sponsored by Wisconsin Paper Group and produced by B.J. DeGroot of Woodward Community Media.
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