When Chad Brakke toured GPS Education Partners' Bradley Education Center years ago, he was superintendent at a different district. He saw the model up close: students earning real work experience and employers building their own pipeline of skilled talent. When he became superintendent at Baldwin-Woodville, he brought the idea with him, recognizing the same gap in his new community.

On September 15, just over a year after first bringing the proposal to the school board, the Baldwin-Woodville School District cut the ribbon on its newest investment in students: the Nolato-Blackhawk Education Center, built to connect students with real careers in the St. Croix Valley.

What’s opening:

• A launch cohort of 10 students starting this fall, with a target of 20–25 students annually by year two
• A learning model built around individualized instruction and personal attention
• A curriculum and transcript system designed in partnership with the district

Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly attended the ribbon-cutting and spoke to what the center means for students. “They’ll encounter real-world problems that don’t necessarily have an answer at the back of the textbook,” she said, pointing to the durable skills students build through real work experience: authenticity, aspiration, abilities, and agency. “Those are skills that will serve them wherever life takes them.”

This rural district is doing big-district work with a fraction of the staff and budget. Baldwin-Woodville had tried youth apprenticeship before, and this time, community leaders wanted a plan solid enough to earn trust from families, staff, and employers.

GPS Education Partners worked side-by-side with the district: joining early conversations with community leaders, preparing the host site, training staff, and helping shape the family and student handbook. The Fred C. and Katherine B. Andersen Foundation helped fund the launch. Today, the center is staffed by its own local team, and Baldwin-Woodville already has 21 businesses actively trained and engaged, with more than 30 in the pipeline, setting the stage for long-term success.

“This started with one superintendent who had a vision for how education and industry could work together to positively impact his community,” said Amanda Daniels, Director of WBL Strategy at GPS Ed. “That’s what GPS Ed is here for: helping districts build the capacity to turn a vision like Chad’s into results.”

As Underly told the crowd, “Student success is a community effort.” With the right partners, a credible plan, and a community willing to commit, Baldwin-Woodville has shown what that effort can build.