By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
The Hays school district is seeing increases in student success after graduation, the school board heard in a report Tuesday night.
Students graduating from high school had 69.5 percent post-secondary effective rate as of 2022. That looks at students in 2022 who graduated in spring 2020. HHS had a 91.1 percent graduation rate in 2020.
The data is based on the district's graduation rate and the number of students who have earned post-secondary degrees or certificates or are in school pursuing degrees two years after graduation.
It does not include students who enter the military or go directly into the workforce
Board member Tammy Wellbrock said she thought it was important to note HHS 2020 graduates are still performing well despite facing challenges during the pandemic.
Shanna Dinkel, assistant superintendent, said the measure is used by the state for district accreditation. The success rate measure was developed because 70 percent of future jobs in Kansas will need some type of certification or degree, she said.
The district has seen its effective rate steadily increase since 2016 and is only slightly below the 70 percent state goal.
The state estimated the district would only have a 50 to 53 percent effective rate based on the makeup of the student body.
Involving students in career exploration and academic pathways while in high school helps prepare students for post-secondary success, Dinkel said.
Ninety-seven students are involved in career exploration this year up 60 from last fall, Superintendent Ron Wilson said.
"That is one of our goals is to get kids out and have some experience in work they may be considering," Wilson said.
One hundred-twenty members of the graduating class of 2022 took classes in at least one career pathway. Almost 400 underclassmen are involved in pathways.
Seventy students are in the new intro to health sciences class, which is part of a new pathway at the high school.
The district also has more than 250 students taking courses for concurrent college credit, as well as 46 students taking college classes online during the high school day.
The district will be working with Fort Hays State University to offer intro to military and intro to military health courses in the spring.
"Really career tech ed encompasses all," Dinkel said. "Pathway to become an educator. A pathway to become anything in the medical field. It's about pathways and kids exploring options and really getting them on a pathway that is something of their choosing and that sets them up for post-secondary [education] no matter what it is."
The district continues to help students with social and emotional health, another criterion measured by the state in accreditation.
The district will be distributing surveys in about a week for students in grades three through 12 on their social, emotional and academic well-being. Those surveys will be used to identify students who may need additional help in those areas.
Parents have the ability to see the surveys in advance and opt their children out if they desire.
The district also approved
• Repairs to the boiler tube at Rockwell at a cost of $26,900
• Upgrades to the Hays Middle School cooling system at a cost of $42,669
• Policy revisions recommended by the Kansas Association of School Boards
• Classified staff handbook changes