Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career Technical Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CTE update: Tullahoma converts high school library to college-career center, expands EPSO and covers industry credential costs
Summary
Jesse Kinsey told the Tullahoma Board on Feb. 18 that a grant-funded conversion of the high school library into a college and career readiness center has expanded dual-enrollment access, proctoring, industry credentials and work-based learning supports.
Jesse Kinsey, the district's CTE presenter, reported to the Tullahoma Board of Education on Feb. 18 that the Innovative School Models grant has funded a transformation of the high school library into a college and career readiness center and supported expansion of early postsecondary opportunities and industry credentials.
Kinsey said the center provides a welcoming, supervised space for students taking virtual or dual-enrollment classes through Tullahoma Virtual Academy and partner colleges (including Motlow and other regional institutions). "We wanted to transform this space so that students felt welcome to take virtual classes," Kinsey said, noting students previously left campus or had no safe on-campus space for online coursework.
The presentation included several outcomes tracked by the grant: growth in EPSO attempts (dual enrollment, TCAT technology-center classes, and Advanced Placement), expanded availability of proctoring in-house, industry credentials, and work-based learning. Kinsey described a specific industry-credential example: a student (identified in the presentation as Thomas, who goes by Peyton) prepared for a private pilot license and cleared the written exam; Kinsey said the student needed roughly $800 for a required instructor-supervised solo flight and that the grant includes provisions to help cover such credentialing costs.
Kinsey credited a dedicated work-based learning coordinator, Miss Welch, for helping the program grow by managing paperwork and placements. He also said the grant funded two 7-passenger vehicles based at the high school to support college and industry tours and smaller team travel; those vehicles are used three or four days a week on average.
Other grant-supported items Kinsey cited included equipment and materials (coding robots, Sphero Bolt and Bee-Bot devices), expanded AP access via an online AP program, and industry credential exams and supports. Kinsey said the district has about 16 months remaining on the four-year grant and emphasized the grant funds cannot be carried over beyond the grant period.
Kinsey invited board members to help with an upcoming college, career and transition fair and said the district will track outcomes as the grant period winds down. No formal board action was required for the report.
