Every year, Poteau High School Principal Joe Ballard sends more than 100 kids through Kiamichi Technology Centers, where students spend half of their school day exploring career paths that meet local workforce needs. Ballard says he’d send more if he could as the program is highly valued among his students.
“You don’t have to go to college to make a good living,” he says. “The kids who go through these programs, a lot of them will make more money than I will, without college debt and time wasted taking classes they’re not interested in.”
National data confirm that by 2019, more than eight in 10 high school graduates had taken at least one career and technical education course. This path aims to meet students’ postsecondary aspirations and is growing in popularity, especially for this Oklahoma educator.
There are 25 full-time programs available at Kiamichi, including:
- Biomedical sciences and medicine
- Computer information technology
- Cosmetology
- Criminal justice
- Pre-engineering
- Teacher prep/early care and education
Short-term courses include Electrical Lineman Training, Effective Communication and Intro to AI, as well as several specialized trainings like Workforce and Economic Development, a police officer training academy, truck driver training and many more.
It’s an opportunity Poteau and other Oklahoma schools are taking advantage of thanks to new state legislation. Oklahoma has recently adjusted graduation requirements, which allows students to earn math or science credits for completing courses at Kiamichi.
“A lot more students were interested in taking a career and tech ed program, but some of those graduation requirements in the past were holding them back,” says Michael Culwell, Kiamichi’s career tech director. “That’s one thing our legislators have embraced and are encouraging students to look more at the trades.”
Culwell also serves on the board of directors for the Association of Career and Technical Education. Six years ago, he established the career specialist position to work in fifth through eighth grade in partner schools to help students begin their career exploration journeys.
“That is a big part of the partnerships that we have,” says Culwell. “By the time they get to high school, they know our faces. They know the campus.”
Kiamichi also offers a scholarship that allows partnering high school graduates to participate in these programs for two years. Ballard says several of his students took this route after going to college and quickly realizing it wasn’t for them.
Ballard encourages other administrators to meet face-to-face with their career tech centers to create opportunities for students.
“It always goes back to communication,” says Ballard. “It’s important that high school administrators get with their career techs and tell them what their needs are. Get out and talk to your local career techs and build those relationships from the ground up.”
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