The Community Partnerships That Could: High Schools, ChamberBusiness and the Community College Kalis

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The Community Partnerships That Could High
Schools, Chamber/Business and the Community
College Kalispell Public SchoolsKalispell,
MontanaHigh School Curriculum Reform
Effortwww.sd5.k12.mt.us 6/17/08
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This is Kalispell

• Northwest Montana Economic Hub of Flathead
  County
• Glacier National Park
• Flathead Lake
• Whitefish Mountain and Blacktail Mountain Ski
  Resorts
• Greater Kalispell 2007 Population _at_43,000
• 5,250 students
• 5 Elementary Schools
• 1 Middle School
• 2 High Schools
• 2 Alternative High Schools
• 2,500 students from outlying elem districts will
  utlimately attend our two high schools

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Why Trampolines Are So Dangerous in Montana

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School/Business Partnership Joe
Unterreiner Kalispell Area Chamber of
Commerce DeAnn Thomas Kalispell Public Schools
Career Centers

• Field Advisory Teams
• Career Electives
• Career Field Plans of Study
• Career Experiences

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History of Business Involvement

• 1998 Flathead Business and Education Council
  formed
• 2001 Workforce 2020
• 2002 School Levy advocacy
• 2003 Community College Levy Advocacy
• 2004 Kalispell Schools facility bonds pass
• 2006 Kalispell Chamber Educational Initiative
• 2006 Career Advisory Teams formed
• 2007 School Levy Advocacy
• 2007 Career cluster curriculum begins

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Solutions Inherent in Business/School Partnership

• Rigor
• Business provides real world expectations
• Relevance
• Business provides direction to insure relevance
  of curricular experiences
• Relationships
• Business provides a wider net of adult
  relationships upon which our students build their
  educational experience.

Nothing matters more to kids than having people
take them seriously and nothing achieves this
better than work that really matters in their
community. Kathleen Cushman, 2005
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We face a current and growing crisis

• 1. Business faces a current shortage of trained
  personnel both at the entry level and at the
  highest skill levels. (American Society for
  Training and Development)
• 2. The retirement of 77 million baby boomers will
  make the gap even worse, creating an even more
  acute skills shortage. (AARP)
• 3. Montanas public high school graduation rates
  peaked at 87 percent in 1993 and dropped to 79
  percent in 2004. (MT Board of Regents 2006-2010
  Strategic Plan)

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• 4. According to the US Department of Labor, 90
  percent of the fastest growing jobs will require
  some form of postsecondary education. (US
  Department of Labor)
• 5. Montana also faces low college
  participation rates for every 100 Montana
  students who enter the ninth grade, less than
  half are likely to graduate from high school four
  years later and enroll in college within a year.
  (MT Board of Regents 2006-2010 Strategic Plan)

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Kalispell Area Chamber of Commerce Educational
Initiative New construction totaling 67 million
for K-14 facilities Six Career Field Advisory
Teams. Planning Guides and Communications Evalu
ation and Results Moving Forward
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The Role of the Field Advisory Team Member

• Recommend
• 1. Career Field electives to school district
• 2. Adjustments to current offerings
• 3. Career Experience opportunities for students
  within the Career Field
• 4. Identify skill sets within the Career Field
• 5. Identify national, state and local economic,
  technological and social trends that have
  implications for curricular design within the
  Career Field

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Six Career Field Advisory Teams

• What Six Teams One for each field
• Who 90 business/civic, school and college
  leaders
• Produced
• 1. Curricula for two High Schools
• 2. 14,000 Career Planning Guides
• 3. Supported educators to national
• conferences
• 4. Publication of progress report

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Career Field Plans of Study Pg 1
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Career Field Plans of Study Pg 2
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Career Field Plans of Study Pg 3
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High School ReformTimeline

• 1998
• Flathead Business and Education Council formed
• (Business, K-12, Community College)
• 2000
• District Planning Pillars Established
• School Size Research Conducted
• 2001
• Workforce 2020
• (Business, K-12, Community College)
• Transition Management Team
• (Business, High Schools, Community College)

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High School Reform Timeline Continued

• 2001
• Kim Feicke of Small Schools Workshop visits
  district
• 2002
• 2 School feasibility presentation to Board of
  Trustees
• 2004
• Board Establishes Critical Assumptions

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CRITICAL ASSUMPTIONS

• High standard of excellence
• Relieve overcrowding
• Improve the connectedness for students.
• Include Freshmen
• Creation of learning environments that meet the
  diverse needs of each student.

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High School Reform Timeline Continued

• 2004
• Educational Consultant Frank Locker aides in
  future high school design
• Successful Levy for remodel of FHS and KJHS and
  the building of GHS
• 2005
• Educational Consultant, Dick Withycombe leads
  Vocational Review Task Force

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Vocational Task Force RecommendationsJune, 2005

• Framework of the pathways concept.
• Early and meaningful opportunities for dialogs
  with business representatives
• Identify programs in other school districts that
  offer successful models

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School Board ResolutionPassed Aug. 23, 2005

• that the administration, faculty, and staff
  continue to study, plan for and design all
  necessary changes in order to implement an
  integrated career clusters approach to curriculum
  throughout the district by the fall of 2007.

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High School Reform Timeline Continued

• 2005
• Ed Barlow, Futurist and Consultant, Creating
  the Future Inc.
• Curriculum Transition Team (CTT) created
• Kim Greene, Executive Director of the National
  Association of Career and Technical Education
  Consortium
• CTT Mission Statement Adopted

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CTT Mission Statement Adopted 10/17/05 The
mission of the Kalispell Schools Curriculum
Transition Team is to create a curricular
structure that prepares our students for a
future in which they are able to successfully
learn, earn, serve and live.
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The New Three Rs of Education The National High
School Alliance
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CORE CURRICULUM
Social and Human Services
Arts and Communication
Business and Management
Engineering and Industrial Technologies
Health and Related Services
Agriculture and Natural Resources
General Electives (Foreign Language, Music,
Theater, Health Enhancement, etc.)
Universal Skills ---------------------------------
------------------
Career Electives/Career Experiences
Non-Traditional Course Options
Law Government Education Human Services
Manufacturing Architecture/ Construction Enginee
ring Tech Math Science
Arts Communication Info Tech
Marketing Finance Hospitality
Health Science
Agriculture
SENIOR PROJECT/COMMUNITY SERVICE
Work, Tech School, Community College, University
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Freshman Academy
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(No Transcript)
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21st Century LiteraciesFreshman YearIT
EssentialsSophomore Year
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Goal

• To prepare students to emerge from our schools
  with skills needed to be effective citizens,
  workers, and leaders in the 21st Century and
  ensure they remain competitive in todays global
  market.

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5 Components21st Century Literacies Course
Learning Skills
Financial Literacy
Human Relations
Career
Information Literacy
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What is the Information in I.T. Essentials?

• Students will use the Internet and Choices to
  create an awareness of careers.
• Students will prepare for standardize testing
  such as CRT, SAT etc.
• Students create spreadsheets and databases about
  different post secondary schools.

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End Result

• Students will develop an educational plan to
  transition from school to a career.
• Students will relate the importance of lifelong
  learning to a successful career.

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Goals of 2008 Career Field Events The events
are dedicated to 1. Demonstrate for students
how to plan and make their education meaningful
and relevant 2. Prepare and guide students to
the right post high school education or rewarding
employment 3. Confer to students the need to
take personal responsibility for the success of
their own education
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• 2008 Career Field Events
•  
• The events are a successful partnership of
• - public schools
• - the Chamber of Commerce
• - the business community
• - Flathead Valley Community College
• Freshman Career Field Fair - January 10 11,
  2008
• All Freshman - 600 Student Participants
• 85 Professionals Volunteer 1 and/or 2 Days
• Kalispell Chamber of Commerce Funding/Staff
  support
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• College for a Day - February 19, 2008
• 300 FHS/GHS Student Participants
• 75 Flathead Valley Community College Staff
• Employment Extravaganza - April 10, 2008

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Career Experiences

• Next Steps
• Job Shadows
• School to Work
• Job Chats
• Summer Work
• Internships
• Senior Project / Seminar

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Dual Credit Opportunities

• International Baccalaureate (IB)
• Advanced Placement (AP)
• Running Start (Community College)
• Tech Prep (FHS/GHS)
• Concurrent Enrollment (FHS/GHS)

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Flathead Valley Community College Partnership

• Metals Program
• Woods Program
• Dual Credit
• Running Start Program
• Tech Prep Program
• Concurrent Enrollment

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Progress ReportKalispell School Career Fields
Educational Model

• How business and their education partners have
  improved Kalispell high school curriculum and
  helped prepare students to compete in the
• 21st century economy.
• 33rd Economic Outlook Seminar February 2008

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THANK YOU! QUESTIONS?
Joe Unterreiner, Kalispell Chamber of Commerce,
joe_at_kalispellchamber.com DeAnn Thomas, Kalispell
Schools Career Centers, thomasd_at_sd5.k12.mt.us Iva
n Lorentzen, Flathead Valley Community College,
ilorentz_at_fvcc.edu Dan Zorn, Kalispell Schools
Assistant Superintendent, zornd_at_sd5.k12.mt.us Pow
erpoint is available at www.sd5.k12.mt.us