Web posted
Friday, January 18, 2008
Bringing education to industry
By JAMES JORDAN
Traveler Editor
Economic development has many faces; one of those faces is putting students in a position to get jobs.
"There seems to be a disconnect between industry and schools," Cowley First Director Debra Teufel said Wednesday at the meeting of local government officials.
That disconnect was clear as superintendents from Winfield and Arkansas City talked about their struggles with business leaders. They didn't find an answer, but they did define the problem and they hope to find ways to increase communication this year.
Winfield Superintendent Marvin Estes said schools and industry need to get together.
"There needs to be a coordinated effort," he said.
He described going to Oklahoma City to see a model vocational school and said Kansas is far behind their neighbors to the south in this area.
He said schools are not giving students a set of tools, or skills, that they can show to a potential employer.
Ark City Superientendent Ron Ballard said that local districts do a good job of preparing students academically, but he agreed that Kansas schools are far behind in getting people ready to work.
He said schools are "stuck in their ways. Not everyone fits into that system."
The current school system was designed 50 years ago to get people ready for college and does not fit everyone, officials said.
Both superintendents want to get together with industry leaders to find ways to prepare students for jobs.
School officials want to offer training that local industry needs, but feel their hands are tied. For instance, if they were to use a noncertified instructor for skilled labor, they would stand to lose federal or state funding.
Ark City Commission member Mel Kuhn, who owns a local company, said he was not so concerned about schools teaching specific skills.
"What we are looking for as an employer is a work ethic," he said. "We need to find people who are willing to work. We can develop and bring people along."
Cowley County Commission Chairman Gary Wilson, who also owns a business, said the problem with current education is that there is "no correlation to real life."
He said finding people willing to work was the biggest problem he faces as an employer.
"Educators don't understand what we need, but we can help," he said.
Ballard said he would like to find a place, such as a building at Strother, and get industries to teach high school kids skills.
But even if they could, the state would not allow the schools to use a nonstate certified teacher.
Kuhn said another big problem is local wages. He said many people who live here who have skills are working in Wichita or Oklahoma.
Though no solution was reached, the various officials did agree that more communication is needed to make improvements.
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