The “Striving for the World’s Best Workforce” bill was passed in 2013 to ensure that every school district in the state was making strides to increase student performance. One of the five goals in this legislation was to ensure that all students were ready for career and/or postsecondary education opportunities.
Here at Cook County Schools our students are working tirelessly to be career and college ready when they leave our campus. The process for this begins at the elementary level with our focus on core skill development: reading, writing, and mathematics. By the time students reach high school, they are ready to choose elective courses that will help them as they plan for their post-secondary education options or a career in a field of their interest.
For college bound students the school district made significant strides in working towards this goal. The number of College in the Schools (CITS) courses and Advanced Placement (AP) courses have increased from five options in 2013 to 12 in 2016. With these courses in place, we have seen the number of students taking these college level courses increase.
During the spring of 2016, our students passed their AP exams at a rate of 76.9 percent, which is over 10 percent above the state average! Teaching these courses requires more time and dedication from teachers, and I applaud them for their efforts in preparing students for this rigorous curriculum.
For Career and Technical Education, Cook County Schools has focused on manufacturing, welding, construction, hospitality, and the service industry. The number of career opportunities in these fields is growing dramatically due to Minnesota’s aging population and to the low number of qualified candidates applying for these jobs. This is especially true in northeastern Minnesota.
There has been an increase in the number of students enrolling in our Industrial and Culinary Arts programs in the last three years. Cook County High School was the first in the state to have students graduate from the 360 eTech program with welding certifications prior to graduating from high school. This year students in our Culinary Arts program will also have the opportunity to graduate with their National Restaurant Association ServSafe certification. The training involved in these programs makes our students more marketable in today’s workforce.
We’re immensely proud of our progress. Students from the classes of 2015 and 2016 graduated from Cook County High School with over 900 college credits and over $550,000 in scholarship money combined, and over 75 percent of those seniors were also involved in extracurricular activities!
We will continue striving for the World’s Best Workforce because our kids need to be able to compete with the world’s best and brightest.
Each month a representative of our local schools will offer thoughts in Education Today. This month’s contributor is Adam Nelson, principal at Cook County Schools – ISD 166.
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