Work Based Learning has gotten a huge change compared to last year. This year, students are required to take a class in relation to their job and will not be able to leave school as early as they used to. Students are also not allowed to take work based learning and leave school for certain jobs unlike last year.
“The new changes are that their job has to relate to a class that they’ve taken or are taking. The other new thing is that they have to stay in class for the first nine weeks. They cannot leave school to go to their job until the second nine weeks. Other new things are we are going to have to list eight measurable outcomes. That’s what’s difficult because that all has to relate to the class, to the jobs and to the outcomes,” Amy Anderson, Work Based Learning teacher said.
Adding to Anderson
“It was really hard at first to realize all of the things that were going to happen and all of the kids that would not be able to participate because of their jobs or because they didn’t have a class. That was hard for me at first because it just made me kind of feel bad. Now I’ve just gotten over it, I’m like this is just what we have to do,” Jennifer Meng, Public Service counselor said.
In addition to Meng from a student’s perspective.
“I feel like some of the changes are alright, but some of them are a little bit over-kill. I think the fast food change is not a good one and I’m not a huge fan of that one,” Trell Baker, Public Service Senior said.
The changes affect how many hours students are able to work and when they can leave.
“It does reduce the amount of hours I can work during school, and it does just add a ton of extra work for me and the counselors,” Baker said.
Some students were unable to take the class based on their job or because of the new changes that were made.
“I don’t know numbers exactly, I do know that we eliminated probably 50 to 60 kids, maybe even more because their jobs didn’t work or because they didn’t want to stay in the class until the second nine weeks,” Meng said.
The changes don’t only affect students, but also teachers.
“There is a lot more grading and a lot more organizing on my part,” Anderson said.
The changes are because of requirements from the Kansas Department of Education.
”It changed because the Kansas Department of Education has requirements that we have to meet in order to get funding for the class and so they put all these new requirements and criteria on it in order to get the funding you have to meet the goals and criteria,” Anderson said.
