Career technology education is an emphasis of the Kansas Board of Education, Jana Shaver, a member from Independence, told USD 257 board members Monday night. She said 16 career pathways have been identified for students to prepare for jobs out of high school. “Students need to know their options,” Shaver said.
Although the economic downturn has reduced the number of jobs available, Shaver said, with technology education training “when the economy turns around students will have the skills to go to work.”
No Child Left Behind, a program developed by the Bush administration meant to have all students performing at grade level, may “go away before long,” Shaver said, and be replaced by a growth model, the Kansas preference. A growth model would encourage students to improve their academic performance level from one year to the next within an individual scope. NCLB lumps all students together and measures overall progress through assessment testing that demands adequate yearly progress (AYP).
Kansas students are faring well compared to others in the nation, Shaver noted, and the state “is in the top 10 in the nation by just about any measure.”
The state BOE has strong standards for core subjects, such as math, reading and language arts, she said, and reviews them periodically to maintain excellence.
She said the board’s goal this year was to improve communications, noting she intended to visit local board meetings of all 65 districts in the 20 counties she represents. She may be reached by e-mail at jshaver@cableone.net.
Shaver is a candidate for re-election to the state BOE for a second four-year term.
BOE stresses technology
