Burket educator helps at-risk students earn diplomas
BURKET — It didn’t take long for Mentone’s Micah Lukens to find his first job following his graduation from DePauw University. In fact, he interviewed for that job while still student at the school in Greencastle and accepted it before he tossed his mortar board into the air.
Amazingly, 16 years later, Lukens is still in the same job, although many things have changed since that first year.
A graduate of Tippecanoe Valley High School, Lukens came back to his alma mater to teach students at the Burket Educational Center, a program within the Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation providing an alternative high school environment for at risk students for whom the traditional classroom isn’t the best fit. When he began in the fall of 2003, the program was in its first year. Lukens admitted he was a bit overwhelmed and didn’t know exactly what to expect.
Lukens explained students come to Burket for a variety of reasons, including falling behind on credits, living on their own and paying their own bills, having children and being on the verge of expulsion from school.
“We help a lot of students stay in school and keep them from becoming dropouts,” he said. “Many come from situations outside of their control and we offer them a second chance to get their diploma.”
The students at Burket have the opportunity to get their lessons online through the Apex virtual learning system, allowing each student to tailor the program to meet their specific needs to graduate. Lukens and his assistant, Angie Sroufe, work with the students and provide assistance with their specific situations.
“We try to be cheerleaders to help out and encourage the students,” Lukens noted. “We want them to want to come to school.”
According to Lukens, the program is considered a classroom at TVHS, although they are in a separate building from the main school in Akron. When the students graduate, their diploma is no different than that of their Viking peers at Tippecanoe Valley.
During the 16 years of its existence, the Burket program has conferred 331 diplomas. Currently, there are 27 students enrolled, although Lukens said that number varies as students complete their requirements and others enroll.
Lukens grew up a few miles southwest of TVHS, with a Rochester address. He and his wife, Valerie, now live north of Mentone with their 2-year-old son, Jonas. Valerie also is a graduate of TVHS, although she continued her education at Manchester College. She also works in the Tippecanoe Valley school system as a kindergarten teacher at Mentone Elementary.
While at DePauw, Lukens majored in history with a minor in education. He said it was always his goal to become a teacher and to return to his northern Indiana roots. When the opportunity to work at Tippecanoe Valley presented itself, he knew it was what he wanted to do. During his years as a Viking, Lukens played football and basketball. He continued his career on the gridiron while at DePauw, from which he graduated cum laude. Additionally, Lukens earned a master’s degree in education from Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois. In 2011, he was honored as a member of that year’s class of Tippecanoe Valley High School’s distinguished alumni.
Away from school, Lukens keeps himself busy in a myriad of ways. He is the voice of Tippecanoe Valley football, working in the broadcast booth for a local radio station on fall Friday nights. He also helps operate and farm his family’s 400 acres, drives morning and afternoon bus routes for the school, operates a small sawmill to cut firewood and enjoys playing cornhole.