Mindsets shifting on career and tech ed

BUFFALO — Gone are the days when the only question soon-to-be high school graduates are asked is where they are going to college.

Johnson County School District No. 1 curriculum and learning director Steve Miller said there has been this pervasive idea that the only valid option for students after high school involves a four-year degree from a prestigious university.

"We're trying to tear that down," said Miller, Johnson County School District No. 1's curriculum and learning director.

That mindset change has influenced district curriculum and course offerings, but it isn't just the Johnson County school district that has shifted. The Wyoming Department of Education has also focused on increasing career and technical education offerings through statewide initiatives and funding opportunities for districts. The department recently proposed a $150,000 increase to a formerly $200,000 grant opportunity for districts to use in their career and technical education programs. The WDE is accepting public comment on the proposed increase until May 31 through a survey available on its website.

The WDE also released its profile of a graduate last year, which identified what all high school graduates should know, with an eye on the reality that not every student is planning to attend college.

Miller said this shift has happened, in part, because so many students in recent years have found themselves thousands of dollars in debt once they graduate college and unable to find a job in their field of study. That issue is paired with an increasing demand for skilled labor, he said.

While there has been more funding and focus over the past couple of years toward career and technical education, the change has been part of a much longer process.

Kaycee School Principal Jake Evans, who is also the purpose coordinator for career and technical education districtwide, said the shift really started with the Hathaway Scholarship. From 2009 to 2012, educators from fine arts to agriculture lobbied for the scholarship to include more than just core classes as part of its requirements, Evans said. Those efforts proved successful.

“Now, when you look at the Hathaway Success Program, it values career and technical education,” he said.

To earn the highest scholarship, students must take at least two years of a language, fine or performing arts or career and technical education.

Evans said that philosophies about the value of career and technical education over longer periods of time have often followed a pendulum swing.

“The pendulum has swung back to where career tech ed leads to viable careers,” he said.

The demand in the trades has led to better benefits and pay. More people are exiting than entering the trades, Evans said, partly because a majority of current professionals are older.

Miller said the district's ideal goal is to provide a balance in course offerings so students can see they have options, explore those options and be prepared for what feels like the next step for them.

Miller said the district offers different areas of course specializations through electives, mainly in high school, in what are called pathways. Pathways are a series of courses that follow a specific area of focus or career tract, such as agriculture or business.

Guidance counselors play an important role in guiding students' course selections to fit a pathway that makes sense for them. Buffalo High School counselor Michelle Dahlberg said the district has started to use Naviance, a college, career and life readiness software platform, so that students can find a pathway that matches their interests and skills. The platform offers students self-discovery tools that provide them with assessments to determine their strengths and career interests, a career planning tool and college application tools.

The platform also helps counselors track students' classes to make sure they meet their requirements and their courses align with their interests.

While increasing the variety of course offerings is important, Miller said, it's also important to maintain a balance between elective classes such as welding and core classes such as biology.

For students uninterested in their schools' career and technical education offerings, Miller said, the district has tried to expand its offerings in dual and concurrent enrollment with Sheridan College and provide advanced placement classes.

But core classes and electives are never so far apart from each other.

What students are learning in core classes as theory, they can practically apply in their technical and career specific classes, Miller said. For example, geometry is easily applicable in a construction class.

The district works hard to keep its curricula in line with what industry professionals are saying that students need to know, Miller said. Most industries are constantly evolving, he said.

In addition to educators talking with industry professionals to stay up to date on what they should teach, district classrooms need the equipment and technology to stay relevant, he said.

That's where grant funding can be an invaluable tool.

The Carl D. Perkins Career Technical Education Act of 2006 provides federal funding for secondary and postsecondary career and technical education in Wyoming. Perkins grant funding is one of the funding opportunities the district regularly uses to update equipment, Evans said.

Evans coordinates the district's Perkins grant funding.

He said the funding has been used for things such as robotics equipment, beehives and multi-process welders at BHS. Kaycee High School used some of the Perkins grant to build a greenhouse and purchase woodworking equipment. It has also been used for teacher professional development.

While schools are adapting to the career opportunities available for students and what they need for success once they graduate, Evans said, industries are also being more proactive in finding employees and reaching out to schools.

For example, Black Hills Bentonite visited with Kaycee students, fed them cinnamon rolls and shared what kind of career opportunities they could have with their company and others like theirs.

"That's huge," Evans said. "That's a major shift from what we saw 15 years ago.”

This story was published on May 9, 2024.