Hampton, VA — June 2025 Leaders from Old Dominion University’s four College Partnership Lab Schools gathered in Hampton for a powerful, hands-on experience that brought education out of the classroom and into the real world. In collaboration with the Hampton Roads Workforce Council, ODU faculty, Youth Sailing Virginia, Inc., and the Virginia Air & Space Science Center, the event modeled how place-based learning can drive student engagement and workforce readiness across communities.
The team after touring the Virginia Air & Space Science Center
From sea-level navigation with Youth Sailing Virginia to space exploration at the Virginia Air & Space Science Center, participants experienced firsthand how learning tied to local environments and industries can transform education into something immediate, relevant, and lasting.
“This isn’t theory—it’s applied learning in action,” said Dr. Gary Skeen, Associate Director of the ODU Center for Educational Innovation & Opportunity. “When students see how STEM, tech, and real career paths show up in their own cities and coastlines, they’re not just learning—they’re starting to see where they belong.”
Touring the facilities at Youth Sail VA
The convening brought together leadership teams from all four of ODU’s lab schools:
- The STEM Academy at Booker T. Washington Elementary (Suffolk)
- SmithTech: The Computer Science Lab School at Oscar Smith Middle (Chesapeake)
- The Maritime Engineering and Environmental Science Academy (Newport News)
- The Aerospace Academy of the Eastern Shore (Accomack & Northampton Counties)
Together with university faculty and industry partners, the group explored how Virginia’s Lab School Network can serve as a national model for place-based, future-ready learning. Conversations focused on how students—from urban neighborhoods to coastal towns—can access rich, real-world experiences that align with their local economies and emerging fields like renewable energy, aerospace, and computer science.
This collaboration is part of the broader mission of the ODU Center for Educational Innovation & Opportunity (CEIO), which serves as the bridge between K–12 education, higher education, and workforce systems. CEIO’s leadership ensures that Virginia’s lab schools aren’t operating in silos—but as a connected network moving the entire public education system forward.
The Lab School Network is:
- Creating the next practices in education
- Building future-ready learning spaces
- Transforming education at the speed of innovation
What happened in Hampton is more than a partnership event—it’s a preview of what public education can become when communities work together. From the sea to the stars, this is what it looks like when learning is real, rooted, and ready for tomorrow.
