For Immediate Release
September 5, 2025
Contact: Neil Bhaerman, nbhaerman@oft-aft.org
Education Leaders and Sherrod Brown Tour New Lexington Schools
The rural school district is a national leader in career technical education and experiential learning.
NEW LEXINGTON, OHIO — Yesterday, members of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Career Technical Education Committee, AFT President Randi Weingarten, and U.S. Senate candidate Sherrod Brown toured New Lexington City School District facilities, including the middle school, the Workforce Development Center, and the school farm. The tour focused on the innovative and expansive career technical education program that the district has built up in recent years.
“By providing these opportunities for kids and embedding all of these experiences from kindergarten on, our students are able to explore, delve into all kinds of interests, and see what career they might be interested in, which helps them discover who they truly want to be and where they truly want to go” said Jenny Shiplett, second grade teacher and President of the New Lexington Federation of Teachers (NLFT). “We're all working together as one team to help these kids find out who they are, and we're giving them support to go out of high school, able to be a successful adult on their path to either college or a career or the military. It's just really satisfying that we're all working together for the same end goal.”
The tour started at the school’s farm, where John Lindsey — a Vocational Agriculture teacher at New Lexington High School, Future Farmers of America advisor, and NLFT member — and many of his students explained the work that students did to manage the crops and livestock on the farm. The tour then went to the New Lexington Middle School to visit classes that are infused with career exploration, giving students an opportunity to learn about careers in a wide variety of fields, allowing them to make informed choices about what career experience they want to pursue in high school. The tour ended at the school’s new Workforce Development Center, which is still under construction. Across these facilities, New Lexington students have opportunities to learn, and get certified to do, everything from welding to phlebotomy.
“This project is transformational, this is about moving the needle in Appalachia,” said Casey Coffey, Superintendent of the New Lexington City School District. “It's about perception. It's about awareness. It's about getting folks' attention to understand that we can do workforce development in Appalachia. We can grow economically if we have these resources for these kids.”
The district has expanded career technical education rapidly by leveraging community partnerships — like working with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers on an apprenticeship program and working with Genesis HealthCare System on nursing career pathways — and grant funding, including grants from AFT and Ohio’s Appalachian Community Innovation Centers Grant Program.
"For every obstacle they’ve encountered, New Lexington educators and administrators put their heads together and asked ‘what is it we need to do to figure this out for our students?’ The solutions they’ve come up with are a blueprint for how to deliver cutting edge career technical education with the involvement and support of the entire community,” said AFT President Weingarten.
“Career technical education gives children the chance to learn new skills, build confidence, and experience the dignity of work firsthand,” said Sherrod Brown, former U.S. Senator and current Senate candidate. “With hundreds of students engaged and a 99% graduation rate, New Lexington Schools show what’s possible when teachers, administrators, and local businesses come together to create meaningful opportunities for our students."
New Lexington administrators shared statistics about the success and growth of their program. They reported that in the 2020-2021 school year 154 students participated in career technical education, earning 148 credentials. In the 2024-2025 school year, 780 students participated, earning 1551 credentials. They also reported that at the end of last school year they attained a 99% graduation rate.
“To build a program like this, you have to have people who are willing to take risks and to buck the system a little bit to make things happen,” said Melissa Cropper, President of the Ohio Federation of Teachers. “Superintendent Coffey and New Lexington educators have been willing to do that. Instead of looking at barriers as a problem, they look at barriers as an opportunity and ask ‘how can we provide opportunities for students to not only overcome the barriers but also actually get on a pathway to future success?’ It’s visionary leadership and teamwork.”
“In Connecticut, we have comprehensive trade schools, but we're missing that career exploration piece in middle school, and I think that's where New Lexington Schools are excelling, and that's one of the things that I really want to take back,” said Jan Hochadel, President of AFT Connecticut and chair of AFT’s Career Technical Education Committee. “They were able to build this program here because of the vision, but also the relationships with the community; I think that's something else that I hope people take back to their states.”
Photos and videos are available on request.