Wisconsin is a national leader in high school graduation rates, ACT scores and Advanced Placement results. On the other side of the coin, the state also has high dropout rates for minority children, while businesses and legislators continue to beat the drum about the shortage of Wisconsin workers who have the skills necessary to compete in a global marketplace.
Wisconsin’s issues aren’t unique; states across the country have taken new approaches to address similar challenges. Here, both public and private schools and organizations are utilizing programs and initiatives designed for students at the K-12 level.
Public schools swing for the fence
Tony Evers, Wisconsin’s superintendent of public instruction, has outlined his vision for education in the state as “Every Child a Graduate, College and Career Ready.”
Since his election in 2009, Evers has worked with Wisconsin’s public school districts and legislators to adopt new academic standards, reform and modernize student testing, reinvigorate career and technical education and expand dual enrollment programs between high schools and the state’s colleges and universities.
The National Center for Education Statistics indicates Wisconsin is home to 2,489 high schools, which includes 1,701 public or public charter schools and 788 private schools.
By 2017, Evers aims to increase state graduation rates from 85.7 percent to 92 percent, and college and career readiness from 32 percent to nearly 70 percent.
“While core content like reading, math and science will always be essential, opportunities in fine arts, physical education and sports, career and technical education, world languages, school clubs and more are equally important in preparing our kids to be college and career ready,” Evers said in his state of education address.
Preparing for work in school
According to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, more than 90,000 Wisconsin high school students are currently taking career and technical education courses.
Wisconsin’s Youth Apprenticeship program was formed in 1991 and continues to expand to meet the needs of the state.
The program is part of the statewide School-to-Work Initiative, designed for high school students who want hands-on learning at a worksite in addition to classroom instruction.
Program offerings vary depending on geographical region, but career tracks include agriculture, natural resources, architecture, construction, technology, communications, finance, health care, hospitality and tourism, information technology, manufacturing, STEM careers, transportation, distribution and even logistics.
There are 33 active Youth Apprenticeship Consortiums serving students and school districts across the state. Enrollment reached a 10-year high during the 2013-2014 school year, with 2,469 students at 279 school districts and 1,639 employers.
Founded in 2000, Butler-based nonprofit GPS Education Partners works within several consortiums, and independently in other parts of the state, to offer an immersive education model that prepares students for the technical and manufacturing workforce.
The organization currently works with more than 100 businesses and 45 high schools throughout the state, including several in areas that overlap with the Youth Apprenticeship program. GPS has more than 300 graduates to date, with over 200 students currently enrolled in its program.
“In addition to earning their high school diploma, many students earn career and technical college credits from their work experience,” said Stephanie Borowski, GPS president.
Dual enrollment gains momentum
The Wisconsin Technical College System has offered dual enrollment credits for 20 years, but has renewed its focus on K-12 education, said Morna Foy, president of WTCS.
All 16 of Wisconsin’s technical college districts offer dual credit opportunities for high school students in a variety of sectors, including manufacturing, business, health care, culinary arts, agriculture and more.
“Dual enrollment credits can come in many different forms, but it’s a pretty big venture for us,” Foy said. “Our mission is to find out how we can scale up our dual enrollment activities so that everybody in Wisconsin has access to that opportunity.”
According to Foy, over the past five years dual credit participation has doubled with more than 21,000 students having earned technical college credits while still in high school.
Continued partnerships between Wisconsin high schools and WTCS continue to prepare students for college, while providing cost savings and access to an accelerated career path, she said.
“We need every child to graduate from high school prepared for success in college or career,” said Evers. “Dual credit programs allow kids to earn college credit at their high schools at no cost to their families, while gaining valuable skills that serve local communities and businesses well.”
