By: Ryan Duey
Lions Club member Matt Weller, USD 379 Communications Coordinator, Nichole Weller, CCCHS Math/WBL Coordinator, and two CCCHS seniors presented to Clay Center Lions Club members during their weekly meeting on April 8th. They spoke about how USD 379 is helping students prepare for life after high school.
Mr. Weller spoke about the Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that are offered in the district. USD 379 offers students a chance to learn hands-on skills in specific career areas of the student’s choosing. He said these programs not only help the students find out what they like, it also helps them build on their resume before they graduate.
“We always talk about Diploma Plus. What can we give kids besides just a high school diploma when they graduate that allows them to go out and immediately get hired, or something that they can add to their resume once they get done with schooling?”
“A great example is three young men who just finished getting their commercial driver’s licenses through this waiver program. They had to do an online class, then they went to Beloit these past two weeks for the driving portion, and now they have their CDL. That’s a perfect example of the Diploma Plus Program that we’re trying to do at USD 379.”
Mrs. Weller is the Coordinator of USD 379’s Internship Program. The internship program started 10 years ago in the Ag department. Over the years it has expanded to include different pathways, with 48 seniors taking part in the program this year. She spoke about how this program helps seniors find their path.
“We try to get them in a path that allows them to see whether that’s something they really want to do or not.”
“Sometimes they go out and they are like this is really what I want to do. And sometimes they go out and say this is not what I thought it was, which is also a really good thing. Because then they’re not going to go spend money on school to do what they thought they wanted to do, which they really don’t.”
The two seniors spoke about their experiences in the internship program and how it has given them the confidence to know what they would like to do after high school. These programs aim to help students prepare for life outside of school.
