It is time for the Amazing Shake contest at Mason County Middle School.
On Monday, 10 students stood before Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, State Rep. John Sims Jr., County Commissioner Joe McKay and Mason County Judge-Executive Joe Pfeffer to talk about issues facing the community and how they could be resolved.
MCMS English Teacher Kerri Stanfield said the Amazing Shake began with more than 600 students who completed a community service project. Recently, 20 students gave persuasive speeches about why the community should invest in their project. The students were narrowed down to 10 to present to the representatives.
“We have the top 10,” she said. “We gave them three days to identify a problem locally or in the state and to offer a reasonable solution to all you. We did not give them any parameters or a list of ideas. Everything they present, they came up on their own.”
Cole Wright discussed economic development and maintaining jobs in the community.
“While I was thinking about problems to bring to the board, I played some video games to refresh my mind,” he said. “One of the games I played was realistic city planner, City Skylines. But, as I was developing my fictional town, I ran into a terrible problem. My workforce was dwindling and jobs and businesses were leaving my beautiful city. Right now, I believe the same thing is happening to our town. Many businesses have moved out over the years.”
According to Wright, Kentucky has one of the lowest labor force participation rates in the country.
“On March 2, 2017, Kentucky launched a reformative program called Justice to Journeyman,” he said. “This is to keep them in a job, so once they exit the system, they can enter our workforce. According to a study, before the program, 95 to 96 percent of prisoners did not get a job and ended up on welfare. And, 48 percent of them went back behind bars.”
Wright said, though the stats have lowered some, Kentucky still has one of the fastest growing incarceration rates in the country.
“I believe expanding this to areas will help with a multitude of issues,” he said. “With a wider ranger, the initiative could reach more communities that need the aid. A program like this might be expensive, but the return will far out way the investment.”
Shadiah Green discussed high school drop out rates.
“Many of society’s problems can be linked by the decision to drop out of high school,” she said. “For the 2016-17 school year, Kentucky’s graduation rate was 89.7 percent.Our goal should be at 100 percent every year. If we know earning a diploma is a starting point for your life, that should be our focus.”
According to Green, one in five children live in poverty and without support, they are more at risk of dropping out or failing and not receiving a high school diploma.
Green suggest a program called Communities in Schools, which has been started in another area.
“Teachers just can’t address all of the academic and emotional needs of every student during class time. The program offers counseling services for students on the fence about dropping out. The community and staff coordinate with community partners to bring outside resources inside schools for immediate needs, such as food and clothing, and more complex issues like counseling and support. Of the students in the program, 97 percent receive a high school diploma instead of dropping out. These programs are often what students need.”
Green said the program would be a good thing to consider for Kentucky.
Kyndedee Mauney discussed the importance of school safety.
Mauney recommended having the Hero 911 app that would allow easier and faster access to 911 during emergencies.
“It would allow staff members to send a text message to local law enforcement if there is a school shooting or lockdown,” she said. “The Hero 911 app has multiple features. It displays the map location of the school. It will help reduce the response time to school shootings. Another solution would be to have school resource officers at all Kentucky schools.”
Mauney suggested partnering with the community and having a detailed agenda to plan for such scenarios.
Other speeches included safety regarding pit bull dogs by Destiny Dow, opioid addictions by Grant Owens, legalizing industrial hemp by Tori Lavinder, e-cigarette sales by Emily Greenwell, nicotine tests on students under the age of 18 by Lindsey Saunders, opioid overdoses by Trey Cracraft and adoption/foster care by Cooper Rolph.
Mason County Schools Superintendent Rick Ross said he was proud of the student’s work.
“Our kids did an incredible job,” he said. “They stood up in probably the largest stage of their life at this point and just hit the ball out of the park.“
According to Stanfield, six students will be chosen to move on the the business dinner portion of the competition.
