Jimmy Barnett starts talking about cars, and you can see it—not flashy excitement, but something quieter. Steadier. "My long-term goal," he says, "is to become an automotive engineer and a mechanic for multiple types of vehicles." That blend of hands-on skill and forward thinking defines him. It's also what makes him one of Joppa-Maple Grove's brightest examples of how opportunity and ambition can meet halfway.

Jimmy's path through high school has been paved with those opportunities, thanks to an expanding dual credit program that lets students earn both high school and college credit at no cost. "Right now, I'm taking Engine Performance I," he explains. "Next semester, it's going to be EV Safety." EV, as in electric vehicles—the future of automotive technology. He grins. "Yeah, you just have to remember not to poke the battery with anything."

He's not new to the trades. Last year, he took Auto Body with Mr. Goddard, working out of the auto body bay. During the spring, he took a welding class at night with Rick Griffey—not dual credit at the time, but open to high school students who were interested. He's also completed two HVAC courses, Air Conditioning I and II, with Griffey through Shawnee. He's had the chance, as one might say, to poke around the career barn a little—to look at welding, HVAC, and auto tech—and figure out where he really wanted to pitch his tent. "And I figured out," he says, "this is the one I really want to do."

Penny Bellamey, Joppa-Maple Grove's guidance counselor and math instructor, nods as he speaks. "He's had academic dual credit, too," she adds. "Last year, he took Pre-Calculus with me and earned a five-hour math credit. This year, he's taking English 111 and 112 through Shawnee, taught by Mr. May here at school." It's an impressive lineup—college algebra, literature, and vocational training—all while still a high school student. "He's getting the academic background and the hands-on experience," Bellamey says. "He'll be ahead of the curve when he gets to SIUC."

That's where Jimmy plans to go next—to Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he'll major in Automotive Technology. The tuition-free head start he's getting now? "Pretty good," he says. It's not just saving him money—it's affirming a dream.

Bellamey lights up when she talks about him. "He enjoys putting his teeth, the grit, into all of his work," she says. "He enjoys what he is doing, and he wants to learn as much as he can learn so that he grows. And he carries himself with respect for others—you ask him to do something, and it's already done before you can finish the sentence. He is just a prime individual, an example of what our goals are. I'm very proud of Jimmy."

That pride shows in the numbers, too. Last year, Jimmy scored a 34 on the math section of the ACT, landing him in the 99th percentile nationally. "That's huge," Bellamey says. "It opens doors." Jimmy just grins at the mention. "Pretty good," he says again, his restraint as telling as his score.

Behind every success story, there's a foundation of support, and Jimmy is quick to name his. "My Uncle Jonathan," he says. "He helped my mom raise me and my siblings when we were little so she could go to college." His mother was a single mom at the time, and Uncle Jonathan stepped in. "He's really into vehicles," Jimmy adds, "which I think that might have been one of the main things... gotten me into vehicles." His mother, he says, "has always been my biggest supporter." He pauses before continuing. "And then it would also have to be all the teachers I've had here at Joppa." He names them carefully: Bellamey, Goddard, Griffey. These are the people who will stay with him.

That's what makes this small district's approach so effective: connection. Teachers like Bellamey don't just instruct; they invest. "We start by asking what's possible," she says. "Then we find a way to make it happen." When she arrived in 2007, she began building the school's dual credit framework, beginning with Pre-Calculus. Since then, it's grown to include English, Education, Literature, and multiple vocational pathways in partnership with Shawnee College. "Every time a teacher completes a master's degree," she explains, "I have them pursue an application with Shawnee College. And that's what tells us what they're eligible to teach through Shawnee. That would be dual credits. Every new teacher, I start that process."

It's systematic. Intentional. And it's working.

This year, new courses in Education—taught by Ms. Sloss—are helping students explore teaching as a career, perhaps even leading some back to Joppa someday. Grants from Shawnee have helped cover equipment costs for welding and auto-tech classes, paying for boots, helmets, goggles, glasses, and gloves. "We got multiple pairs of gloves," Jimmy says. These things add up fast, but when cost isn't a barrier, kids like Jimmy can focus on learning.

For Jimmy, learning means getting grease under his nails—and knowing how to get it out. "Last year, we worked out of the auto body bay," he says. "This year, I've got to take two PE classes, so I don't have as much shop time." He didn't take PE last year, so now he's making up for it, which means he can only take four classes here alongside his Shawnee course. All his required classes. No room for auto body this year. "But I'll get back to it," he says, already planning ahead.

And what he loves is exactly what makes Joppa-Maple Grove's story so resonant. It's not just about the grades or the gear ratios; it's about a district creating real-world momentum for students whose futures might otherwise have idled in neutral. "We're proud of all our kids," Bellamey says, "but Jimmy—he's one of those who reminds us why we do this work."

For his part, Jimmy takes the praise the way he takes most things—quietly. "It feels amazing," he says.

And if his record so far is any indication, he won't just keep going—he'll keep building.