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Crete High updates academies, adds multimedia design pathway; students to compete at SkillsUSA nationals
Summary
High school staff described pathway changes and student ambassador growth; the board approved travel for an engineering design team to the SkillsUSA national competition after students reported fundraising progress.
Crete High School staff briefed the school board on academy pathway changes, student ambassador activities and growth, and community partnership development at the May 12 meeting.
Marcy, the academy lead, told the board the high school has adjusted pathways because a freshman class of more than 200 made it impractical to offer every pathway in a single section. The district will add a multimedia design pathway next year to create a fine-arts–related option and will move agriculture from the business and human sciences category to the technical sciences category to balance class sizes and shop capacity.
Why it matters: The academy changes aim to reduce overcrowding in popular pathways (health sciences was identified as the most requested) and to align enrollment with space and safety limits in technical courses (for example, automotive bays and welding stations have fixed capacity).
Staff described other academy developments: expansion of employer partnerships (Camille Kinney said official business partners increased from 12 in January to 27 or 28 signed partners), plans for quarterly advisory boards per academy, and growth in student ambassador participation. The school reported 20 freshmen ambassadors advancing to sophomores, 12 business/human sciences ambassadors and 4 technical sciences ambassadors this year; more than 40 students applied to be ambassadors.
Students and staff highlighted hands-on learning: health sciences students practiced vital signs, CPR and phlebotomy tasks using purchased manikins; technical sciences students built chairs and worked on engineering-related projects; the agriculture pathway raised and released trout as part of an environmental study. The district uses a computer assignment system (Kuna Solutions) to randomize pathway placement and reported that 51 students received their first-choice pathway, 32 their second, and 9 their third.
SkillsUSA nationals: Students from the engineering technology design team described a tiny‑home project they entered at the Nebraska State SkillsUSA conference and said the team won first place at state. The board approved an out‑of‑state travel request to send students to the SkillsUSA national competition in Atlanta; students said they have raised $2,000 toward a $3,500 target and continue fundraising. The motion to approve travel passed on roll call (see actions).
Discussion versus action: Most academy work reported was informational. The board took formal action to approve out‑of‑state travel for students to attend the SkillsUSA national competition and congratulated the students.
