Many Iola High School students will be looking for jobs upon graduation. Preparing them for those jobs should take a collaborative approach between educators, businesses, legislators and communities in general.
That?s the idea behind a meeting Thursday between those various entities. The event, sponsored by USD 257 at the Rural Regional Technical Center, brought together 34 representatives of area school districts, businesses, Chambers of Commerce, Greenbush, KansasWorks and Kansas Sen. Caryn Tyson.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 69.7% of high school graduates will attend college. College-bound IHS students typically are well-prepared, with a rigorous course of study in core subjects like math, science and English, Principal Scott Crenshaw said.
But those who do not have college in their sights, are at greater risk of dropping out of high school unless schools can find creative ways to prepare them for the future, Crenshaw said.
?What keeps me up at night is the kid who just signed himself out of school because he feels there?s nothing of value there for him,? Crenshaw said. ?How are we making education relevant for career and technical education students? We need to expand special certification programs at technical training centers.?
Above, Jamie Manhart with Greenbush talks about efforts to address a lack of skilled workers for area industries at a meeting featuring representatives from area schools and private businesses Thursday.
Fort Scott Community College?s Adam Borth, vice president of academic affairs, pushed back against Crenshaw?s statement that those students are not ?college-bound.?
?Technical education at a post-secondary institution is college-level work,? Borth said. ?Whether they?re doing it while they?re in high school or after, it?s college work.?
It?s important to change that mindset, he said.
In recent years, high schools and colleges have teamed up to expand career and technical education (CTE) programs. Students earn certificates that will allow them to go straight into the workforce or give them a head start to continue their education.
School districts across the state work with community colleges to provide those programs.
It takes a cooperative mindset, Alysia Johnston, FSCC president, said. With the help of Allen Community College, FSCC offers a construction trades program at the tech center at LaHarpe, while Neosho County Community College provides welding and Cloud County Community College provides wind energy training there.
Meanwhile, districts send students to other schools in the region for their programs.
For example, Chanute sends six students to the wind energy program at LaHarpe. Iola sends a student to an automotive program at Garnett and to programs at other schools.
Enrollment at state universities has held steady since 2014, but has declined 9.45% at Kansas community colleges, according to a report from the Kansas Board of Regents.
