Four-year university is only one path for SD4 students

Perkins coordinator Ashley Spatz welcomed members of the business community to a Perkins meeting earlier this month.  In attendance were representatives from small retail businesses, mining, health care and telecommunications.
Before introducing the school’s work experience program, Principal Matthew Jensen explained there are many career path options for students including a four-year degree.
He noted that when he was growing up, the focus in schools was to get students to go to college. “Even if you don’t have the money. A couple of year of generals and you’ll figure it out. Take out student loans. It will all work out.”
He said his generation and younger ones continue down that same path, then realize what they are studying is not what they really want to do or that they didn’t need to go to four years of school. “We need to do a better job for our kids to make better decisions when they complete high school.”
He acknowledged that some of the Riverside students will go to a four-year university and the school will do whatever they can to put those students on that path. The school is also going to have students that join the military, go into trades and those that will need certifications to go right out into the workforce. These are some of the reasons the school invited businesses and employers to the meeting.
Jensen referenced a handout called Wyoming Profile of a Graduate. He said it is a blueprint of what the people of Wyoming want students to know by graduation.
“As a school what does this mean to us? We need to do a better job of tracking our kids and finding a passion for them. If they plan on going to a four-year school, let’s do everything we can do to put them on that Hathaway track. Let’s also make sure we are doing a good job of getting the skills for those kids that want to go into the workforce right away. We want them to have more real-world experiences.”
This year the school is working hard to get input from businesses.  Addressing the business members at the meeting, Jensen said high school is different from what it was when they were in school. The current students don’t always understand what employers are looking for in employees. “They’re all about Snapchat, AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Instagram. That’s their world.”
There was discussion about businesses talking to students, providing internships and shadowing. Various teachers took part of the meeting.  They introduced themselves, what they teach and how they are working to assist the students.
Spatz is the FFA advisor and ag teacher. She teaches animal vet science, mechanics, plant science pathway and natural resources. At the end of the meeting, she handed out a survey. It asked if the business would like to be a part of the work experience program and what soft skills need to be taught to students,
Jereme Carne is a math teacher and one of the high school shop teachers for the district.   He teaches math, wood working, computer aided design and building trades. Next year he will be teaching a remote pilot certification for drones.
Next was Kyle Fenton. He is the middle school shop teacher, oversees the work study program and teaches special education.  He explained that there are some students that can work anywhere in the timeframe of one to three class periods.  The goal with the work experience classes is to broaden their horizons, to explore possibilities in a safe controlled environment.  This allows the student to find out what the career is all about and if they are really interested in it.
JeriLyn Love is the high school business teacher which includes accounting, business law, computer science, consumer econ, and careers. “The idea behind the careers class is that the kids will leave that class with the skills they need to be successful in the workplace, as well as skills they need to apply for jobs.” She added they also learn about taxes, banking, mortgages, loans, budgeting, investing, marketing, etc.   The careers class gives students the opportunity to explore job possibilities, job searching skills, etc.
Chad Lindsey works at the middle school as the computer science teacher. He said, “Sixth graders are doing Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word. Eighth graders do personal finance.”
Jensen pointed out that the teachers all do more than one thing.
Attendees also learned the fastest growing and declining jobs in America.    This info was in a PowerPoint from Labor Bureau and Statistics that was shared by Jensen.  The fastest growing jobs are wind turbine service technicians, nurse practitioners, data scientist, statisticians, and information security analyst.
The fastest declining are cashiers, secretaries, customer service representatives, assemblers and fabrication, bookkeeping, accounting and auditing.
For copies of the PowerPoint, Profile of a Graduate and more information about being a part of the work study program, call the school at 307-568-2416.