What do you want to be when you grow up? That’s the question that lies at the heart of a new grant program at Boscobel High School.
The district was one of just 20 across the state chosen to receive a three-year grant designed to help students prepare for life after high school— whether that means higher education or a job. The funding, $45,000 a year, might be extended another two years, according to Principal Pete Schroeder.
“The whole idea is we’re trying to get our kids ready, when they leave here, for whatever’s next for them,” Schroeder explained. “It doesn’t matter if that’s a four-year college, or a two-year college, or the trades, or going out into the workforce. We want to get them ready for what they want to do.”
The project, titled “Unlocking Pathways Wisconsin,” is in the early planning stages, according to Schroeder. Funding will be used for professional development, staffing needs, and other career planning and training, he said.
Federal grant
Boscobel’s funding comes through Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI), which was one of 19 organizations to receive federal funding under the Perkins Innovation and Modernization (PIM) Grant Program, which is part of federal legislation—an updated version of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006.
Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, a co-chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, praised the grant program and characterized the state-level grant as a boon for Wisconsin.
“Our workforce and economy reap the benefits when young people have the skills that businesses need when they graduate,” she said in a statement to the Dial. “I am proud to bring home this funding to better connect students with indemand professions and help ensure that every student, no matter their background, has the opportunity to succeed in life afterward.”
In addition to basic career assessment and planning, the PIM program focuses on four key areas: “dual enrollment,” which puts high school students in college classes; “work-based learning” on jobsites; and “industry-recognized credentials,” which provides training and actual certification in high-demand jobs, such as registered nursing or journeyman trades.
This last focus is new to the Boscobel district, according to Schroeder.
“Right now we’re not really issuing any credentials,” he said. Through the program, the district will partner with another school that already provides this service through apprenticeships and other training that leads to recognized credentials.
Regional magnet
Today, Boscobel is in the early planning stages of the three-year grant, as are the other 19 schools that were chosen to pilot the programming.
Down the road, Schroeder has high hopes for the focus on post-secondary career planning. The offerings could differentiate Boscobel schools and serve as a magnet for students through open enrollment into the district, which has suffered funding gaps because of declining enrollment.
“We hope to develop the reputation of getting people ready for whatever they want to do,” Schroeder said. “Many schools push the four-year college thing. Kids may come to us because they know that we have pathways for all kinds of outcomes. We want them to actually be their best selves, not necessarily be the square peg in the round hole.”
