Classroom focus shifting to careers

Somewhere at some point in time, came the formula for the “perfect life.”
Go to school, get good grades, advance to college and get the perfect job.
Except that idea doesn’t work for everyone.
Educators at Iola High School and Allen Community College are aware of this and in response have put plans in place to provide different maps for those following divergent paths.
Principal Stacey Fager has been at Iola High for eight years. He’s seen programs come and go.
He, like most educators, wants to see his students succeed in the best way possible, either in the classroom or in the work force.
Fager has worked to develop internship possibilities with local businesses.
One such partnership is with Mark and DeAnn Burris of Precision Pump, an oil pump equipment manufacturer in Iola. A dozen alternative students and one student from the high school will train and intern at Precision next semester.
Randy Misenhelter, director of operations at Precision, is helping form the internship requirements with Crossroads director Tim Seibel. Crossroads is an alternative learning facility for USD 257 students at risk of missing graduation.
At Precision the students will train at the plant, while learning other essentials, such as how to write a resume, complete a job application or perform in job interview.
This eight-week course will begin next semester; students also will earn high school credit.
“Precision will help evaluate the students for their grade,” Fager said. “They will be on-site for multiple block periods.”
Fager hopes this internship at Precision will spark interest with other Iola industries for opportunities.

EDUCATION outreach doesn’t end at the high school.
Jon Marshall, vice president of academic affairs at ACC, said the college offers workforce training at Monarch Cement in Humboldt. A college instructor goes to Monarch and teaches employees computer software programs  utilized by the company. A similar training session is planned next semester at Catalyst in Iola.
“This training is very successful,” Marshall said. “We do training like this in Osage and Shawnee County, too.”
Marshall said more students are not sticking to the traditional path of going from high school to college.
More and more are “college hopping” in search of schools that offer specific programs.
“It has become more of a gathering of credits and it is almost like a patchwork of schools,” he said. “We’re noticing not everyone is going to have one career in their lives.”

THE PRECISION internship isn’t the first time Iola High has attempted prepping students for workforce training.
In the failed campaign for a $50 million bond issue this fall to build new schools, USD 257 personnel suggested a new form of learning for IHS students.
Had it succeeded, the bond issue would have altered classes at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center, with new programs geared toward technology.
This part of 21st century teaching and learning blends specific skills, content knowledge and expertise. Students would have been able to have hands-on learning in stage production, graphic design, video production and audio production.
“In these classes students would have hands-on applications and we would have generated certificates for them,” Fager said. “These classes would give the students an opportunity to earn higher pay and get jobs while attending college.”
A similar program exists in nursing. Students who have earned certified nurse’s aide status, can get better-paying jobs while still in college.
While the bond issue failed, there have been murmurs that job skills training should remain on the front burner. The main hurdle remains funding.

FAGER SAID education leaders are starting to rethink how education is delivered in schools as students decide to go straight into the workforce instead of the university route. In fact, many programs have been around for years.
Iola’s now-defunct building trades program gave students hands-on learning and real world skills. When former instructor Larry Wittmer retired, the school board had to re-evaluate funds because of needs elsewhere.
Because of a dire need to offer health classes at both the middle school and high school, USD 257 school board members eschewed hiring another building trades instructor, favoring instead hiring a health teacher.
Twenty to 30 students participated each in the building and trades program. During two-hour blocks students would help build a home which was then put on the market.
“There is a need for such housing,” Fager said. “The question was how do we find the finances to continue it. The goal of the district wasn’t to make a profit; it was for the knowledge gained.”
Cody Hager, wood technology teacher, teaches one block of building and trades to students but on a much smaller scale.
Other courses at the high school, such as business, teach students leadership skills. Tina Stanley’s class helps with workplace training. Her students help develop web pages, business cards and greeting cards. Charlie Kerr’s agriculture courses teach students leadership, job interviews and Robert’s Rules of Order.
Iola High School has a close partnership with Allen Community College through dual credit courses. Carol Larson, IHS guidance counselor, said about 50 students participate.

ACC WORKS with 44 high schools within the state. There are six students at Marmaton Valley High School who take classes at Allen, and 89 from Humboldt. Marshall said ACC tends to think of classes in two ways: general education and career and technical. Allen offers multiple career and tech courses such as early childhood education, criminal justice studies, agriculture and nurse’s aide.
More people are trying to push community colleges to turn into technical institutes instead of transfer facilities to higher education such as universities and colleges, Marshall said.
“Our argument for that is we’re also prepping students for the workforce,” Marshall said.
When Marshall first came to Allen, 17 percent of students were career and tech ed and 83 percent were liberal arts. Now there are 25 percent tech ed students and 75 percent liberal arts.
“We followed the state lead on offering to prep people for the workforce,” Marshall said. “We always want our students to have the  highest quality education and prepare for university.”
Marshall said students who transfer to universities tend to have a higher grade point average than those who start out at four-year schools for their freshman year.
Technical education is available to high school juniors and seniors, too. Through Senate Bill 155, the state pays to cover the cost of tuition, fees and book rental for qualified high-schoolers enrolled in technical classes. This helps students get a jump-start on developing skills and knowledge for a variety of career fields.
Just because a college wants to add a new technical program to their schedule does not mean it will happen. Career and tech ed courses need approval by the Kansas Board of Regents.
“We can’t apply with a perception of a need for the course,” Marshall said. “Employers have to show commitment to hire these students if a program existed.”