It is an exciting time to work in our district. We have always had a very strong educational system here that has been well supported by our community. In my tenure here, we had not been proactive in forming new partnerships to increase educational opportunities for students. Maybe this was due to the standards and assessment movement gaining steam or from complacency. Neither of which are good reasons. As the winds of change have began to blow, our school started to realize that we had student needs that were going unmet. Not in the traditional academic way, but in the real world skill sets they would be required to demonstrate after graduation. Some of those skill sets are soft skills, and others are the certifications and connections they will need to have a leg up on the competition in this global economy.
Enter the 'Community' in our school. This fall we began discussions about ways to improve the relations with our community to gain support for new projects. The logical conclusion was to invite the community into the schools to share with them what we are doing and ask for some feedback of what we could do better. Through this process of engaging some of our community members, we made the decision to look into partnering with businesses to help us prepare our kids for the real world with more than just a diploma. For the backstory on the declining value of a high school diploma, see my previous blog post by clicking here.
The first step
The first partnership was to approach the Cozad Community Health System and Central Community College to be able to offer a Certified Nursing Assistant class to our students. Lyle Davis, the hospital administrator and Central Community College have always been very willing partners and have offered great support to Cozad Community Schools. With a little legwork, several phone calls and a couple of meetings, I am proud to say that we have twelve students who are working through the CNA course and will earn their state certification this semester.
This first win, helped us overcome the inertia of complacency. Our next partnership was with the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, part of the University of Nebraska System. Utilizing our Dawson Area Development coordinator, who was previously an employee at NCTA, we brainstormed a 'wish list' of ideas and then approached NCTA about entering into a conversation about ways we could make that list of dreams a list of realities. Our first meeting involved our high school administration and our career and technical education staff at the college and several of their administration and team members. From this meeting I can tell you that, Ron Rosati, the Dean at NCTA, is a progressive forward thinking man. Long story short, no obstacle too big, no challenge too hard. Our next meeting is scheduled for February 6th, 2014 and will be to begin working out the logistics of how this partnership will work. To sum up what this partnership will offer is this: NCTA wants our students taking their classes through synchronous and/or asynchronous methods utilizing adjunct instructors. The best part of this is that much of these college classes and certifications will be offered to our students free of cost and the potential exists for our students to earn nearly an associates degree and several industry level certifications prior to graduation. This is exciting to say the least!
While the ball was rolling, it just so happened that we were approached by a large cattle feeding operation here in our area to explore the opportunities that may exist in the area of agriculture. After part of a day touring their 'high tech' facility we began to brainstorm some ideas of how we might be able to work together to provide greater leadership skill experiences, technical skill set attainment, and skills in applying academic concepts to the real world in the agriculture industry. We were quite impressed with their operation and willingness to engage us in conversation. We are looking forward to these talks continuing. I won't name the operation directly because these talks are still in the preliminary stages, but to say the least, we are excited to dream about how this partnership could bring yet another great experience to the students of Cozad Community Schools.
Whats next?
As we continue to steamroll through this school year, we are already looking to expand these partnerships in our community and surrounding area. Each month our high school's 'Ed Tech' team meets with the executive board of the Cozad Development Corporation. Robyn Geiser and her team have been instrumental in helping us connect with other 'movers and shakers' who are looking make a difference in the next generation of our citizens. Our plans include the placement of twenty five high skill students into meaningful work experiences next school year. Our three year goal is that every student in our senior class is matched up with a business mentor where they can gain some real world skills and networks to potentially bring back our best and brightest after graduation. Other plans include the beefing up of our CNA class so that next year students will also attain their Medical Assisting (CMA) and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certifications as well. We are looking at several technical certifications and partnerships where students could CISCO, A+, Windows, and other technology related certifications. We are also tentatively looking into the logistics of offering a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) program and Pesticide Applicator Licensing to our students. For the sake of space I will omit the other twenty-some ideas we are mulling over as well.
As our partnerships mature and our 'Community' is more fully integrated into our schools, I am sure that I will report on those successes. Until then however, we will continue to dream big, think outside the box, and welcome the ideas and input of our community.
Dustin Favinger
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