Three plans, one goal: More vocational schooling in D-11

Three plans, one goal: More vocational schooling in D-11
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November 07, 2009 3:25 PM
SUE McMILLIN
THE GAZETTE
Some teens drop out of school because the required courses seem irrelevant to their lives. What they’d rather have are classes that provide the skills to get a decent-paying job when they graduate from high school.

In the education world, there’s a lot of talk these days about ensuring that high schools grads are “workforce ready.” And many of the programs aimed at giving teens job skills are specifically aimed at retaining those who might drop out in school.

So it’s no surprise that some folks started to explore the idea of creating a vocational school in the Pikes Peak region.

Two community groups formed last spring for that purpose. One has applied to Colorado Springs School District 11 to open a charter school next fall. The second proposed a partnership with D-11 to include a vocational program in an intergenerational community center at the former Irving Middle School.

Both groups talked to D-11 as they drew up their plans. And D-11 board members and administrators attended some of the community meetings held by the Irving Village Community group.

That’s why members of both groups said they were surprised when D-11 unveiled a concept in late October for a “community career tech center” at Irving.

“They used the work of the Irving Village Community without acknowledgement or collaboration,” said Delia Armstrong Busby, who led the effort to propose an intergenerational center at Irving, which closed in May. “It smacks of disrespect. They didn’t even notify us of their presentation so we could be there to support it. We do support that concept; we just want the community that started it to be part of it.”

The charter group also said it wasn’t aware that the district was developing its own concept for a career and technical education center.

“We have been in daily contact with D-11 officials and I had no idea they were talking about this,” said Deb Chamberlain, a steering committee member for the proposed Colorado Springs Vocational Academy.

D-11 Deputy Superintendent Mike Poore said the district’s concept for a community career tech center is not an attempt to undercut the other efforts. He said administrators wanted to make sure the board liked the concept before they spent more time and resources fleshing it out and lining up community members to partner on it.

On Sept. 23, the D-11 board asked the administration to report on what vocational-type courses the district offers and develop some broad concepts on how it might expand or reconfigure those offerings. That report was presented at the Oct. 28 D-11 board meeting. It included a rundown of what the district offers at its five high schools, how students get college credit for certain coursework and an initial peek at how the district might expand its offerings.

Poore prefaced his remarks to the board by acknowledging the charter application and a “group of citizens that want to come into partnership” with D-11, and the apparent community interest in offering more vocational type classes so students could be prepared for the workforce or college.

He also warned them: “Once you see the challenges behind expanding career/tech programs, you might want to pull back.”

After some discussion, the board indicated it wanted the district to take the next steps, although several board members said they weren’t sure the district could afford such a large undertaking.

Poore said this week that there’s plenty of opportunity for the community to get involved. In fact, he said, the concept presented likely would be dependent on partners that would invest in portions of the program and revenue-producing activities that could support the other programs.

“It will take a tremendous amount of work to pull it off, and we’d have to have community partners to do that,” he said.

Poore and Kris Odom, D-11 executive director of contracting and procurement, said they envision members of the Irving Village group working with the district on plans for a career tech center, even through the group’s proposal was rejected by the district.

The Irving Village Community was notified in early October that its proposal didn’t meet the requirements of the contracting office, Odom said.

“It was a very good idea,” she said, but it didn’t fulfill their requirements for consideration. The letter she sent to organizers in October explained the shortcomings and offered a meeting, but no one responded to the contracting office, she said.

The D-11 concept
The district would continue to offer career-type courses in its high schools, but could expand the offerings at the Irving center. The concept includes renting out some space at the former middle school, such as the auditorium for performances and office space for community organizations, to help pay for other programs. It would operate more as a center where students might come for part of a day or evening rather than as a comprehensive high school.
Among the ideas:

• A culinary arts/catering program supported by a student-run restaurant at the site.
• A community clinic where students in medical technology and nursing courses could get practical experience.
• A student-run art gallery where student art could be sold.
• A digital/online learning center where students could make up credits or get ahead.
• Community gardens.
• A crafts/trade/hobby center.
• A cosmetology school supported by services it offers.
• Businesses, community groups, colleges or trade schools could run some of the program under partnership agreements with the district.

What’s next: The D-11 board directed the administration to pursue the concept, including some analysis of the resources that would be required.

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Call the writer at 636-0251.