By Jennifer Theurer

The Patterson Family Foundation recently awarded USD 379 $199,000 to expand Career and Technical Education opportunities for high school students. The PartnerEd program brings local industry experts into classrooms to work directly with teachers and students.

Community Connections Coordinator Matt Weller says community members in the workforce have always been willing to come into the schools and talk to kids.

“If you have a welder who takes the day to work with our kids, that welder isn’t making any money that day,” he said. “This gives [the school] an avenue to help pay that professional to come talk to kids about what they do.”

Weller says the grant will help with scholarships for students and provide curriculum, supplies, and equipment for classrooms. When the right professional is paired with an interested student, it could even lead to a project done during school or a job offer after graduation.

“We call it diploma plus. We want to have kids that graduate with, obviously, a high school diploma but then what else do they have that allows them to go and be successful after high school?” Weller said. “And it doesn’t always have to be a four-year or a two-year degree.”

Phil Bone, design and pricing manager at Wardcraft Homes in Clay Center, recently visited Alyssa Schooley’s computer aided drafting class.

“It’s gratifying to do instruction to be able to share knowledge with people,” he said. “They’re really smart kids at that age and they’re ready to learn.”