Robbie Osenga knows there is a problem with education in America.

Students are dropping out of school, and those that stay in view their education as a hoop to jump through before they can get on with life.

“We know there's a problem, but we don't have a lot of answers.” Osenga said.

Osenga is the principal of LeRoy Preparatory Academy. As an administrator with the LeRoy school district, he is seeking for ways the district can be ahead of the curve in empowering students and preparing them for the 21st century.

The LeRoy school district is constantly looking for ways to think outside the box in how they are preparing their students for the world. A few years ago, district staff met with State Farm leaders to ask how the education system is working in preparing students for the work world.

This year, administrators met with the current LeRoy High School senior class to get their take on the educational experience and what could be different. With those conversations in mind, the school district decided to send Osenga on a trip to continue to ask questions about what education could look like.

So in December, Osenga traveled to Silicon Valley California to meet people from some of the most innovative and successful companies in the world. Osenga visited the headquarters of Google, Apple and Microsoft to learn as much as he could about how to facilitate creativity and the best possible learning environment for students.

“I went with the question in mind, what can we learn from the way you do things that we can apply to education to be a catalyst for our students,” Osenga said.

Osenga shared his experience with the school board at their meeting Monday night. He was given the most access at Google, and spent about six hours on their campus.

He spoke about the aesthetic environment the companies provide. He said employees have a lot of autonomy and don't simply sit at their desk for the duration of the work day. Osenga spoke about the importance of collaborative efforts, because in the real world people work as teams.

He said much of what he learned can be brought to education. In fact, he said some of what stood out at Silicon Valley, “validated a lot of what we are doing.” He also said there are ways to grow, especially in keeping students engaged.

He showed a visual aid that highlighted much of what made Google unique as a work environment. In the middle of the visual were the words, “Empowered individual.”

He said at Google “everyone has a voice,” and that employees are encouraged to ask, “What if?”

Osenga will continue to explore possibilities in education. He will interview the assistant Superintendent of Schools at Glen Este High School in Ohio as well as Max McGee, the president of the Illinois Math and Science Academy.

Osenga will present a video LeRoy's State of the Schools meeting discussing the possibilities in the future of education. He said the overall purpose in his research is to find ways to bring the most out of students.

“The last thing I want as an educator is to facilitate another hoop to jump through,” he said, “How can we help students be fully engaged and empowered to live a life worth of their calling?”