Oshkosh district ramps up dual-credit and apprenticeship pathways as applications surge

The Oshkosh Area School District on March 12 reported expanded college-credit and career-readiness options for high school students, including a spike in youth-apprenticeship interest and steps to strengthen advisory-board partnerships with local employers.

District presenters said they corrected data that previously overstated dual-credit participation and set targets to raise the share of graduating seniors who complete at least one advanced-placement course, dual-credit course, youth apprenticeship, work-based learning placement or industry-recognized credential. Jackie (staff member) said the district's current baseline is 58 percent and the one-year target is 62 percent, with a three-year goal of 70 percent and an aspirational long-term goal of 80 percent.

The district traced the lower-than-expected baseline to two data issues: dual-credit courses had not been consistently marked in the student information system, and the group used in the KPI pull included students who had not yet graduated. "We found a really big issue in our reporting system," Jackie said, and staff "cleaned that up" in coordination with the state.

Career and technical education coordinator Vicky (staff member) told the board CTE is a principal driver of the KPI. She described pathway-specific work this year across health sciences, technology and engineering, business, agriculture and family and consumer sciences, including field trips, employer-led residencies, a Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast and the launch of advisory boards that include more than two dozen area employers. Vicky said the district added 14 new youth-apprenticeship partners this school year and that youth-apprenticeship applications have grown sharply: "We had 30 youth apprenticeships last year. We have over a hundred kids who have applied for this year."

A parent who spoke to the board, Erin Ball, described the impact of youth apprenticeships on her three sons, each of whom completed apprenticeships and used the experience to obtain internships and job offers. Ball said the apprenticeships provided workplace skills and networking that made her sons "much more valuable to employers" and that one son returned to Oshkosh Corp. as a full-time engineer after internships.

Actions the district plans to pursue include: aligning course enrollment maximums with Fox Valley Technical College for selected dual-credit offerings, adding AP sections (AP Psychology will have three sections next year), identifying research-capstone experiences, expanding student-centered coaching in CTE and converting current student workplace programs to meet state work-based-learning requirements so they count toward the KPI.

District leaders emphasized that some KPI indicators are year-lagged (final apprenticeship completions and credential test results are not available until after spring term), so near-term progress will be shown as students complete those experiences. Early indicators cited to the board: 15 more industry-recognized credentials available this year compared with last year at the same point, and more apprenticeship applications than prior years.

Board members praised the expanded employer connections and highlighted cross-KPI benefits: engagement in hands-on career learning can also drive improvements in literacy and math when students see real-world relevance.

The district said it will continue to grow advisory boards and employer-teacher partnerships to keep pathways current with local labor-market needs.