By: Annelise Hanshaw
Missouri Independent
Missouri needs “plug-and-play instructional resources” to help school districts expand vocational offerings and employer incentives to hire students exploring career paths, according to a new report on improving job readiness.
Bringing together resources from the state’s K-12 and postsecondary education departments, a work group met from April through July to assess the state’s current career-tech programs.
Implementing the departments’ recommendations, though, comes with numerous funding challenges.
Gov. Mike Kehoe called for the report during his State of the State address in January with an executive order charging the departments with “improving existing career and technical education delivery systems in Missouri.”
Along with the work group, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development also launched a public survey, which showed a strong consensus in favor of career and technical education.
The group’s recommendations were released Thursday, with Kehoe lauding career and technical education as “an essential part of Missouri’s long-term economic strength” in a press release.
The report calls for increased staffing inside the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to support stronger career exploration through all grade levels, including a statewide advisor for elementary and middle school career education.
Currently, the department has nine career advisors working part time for grades 5-12. The department suggests making these roles full time, at an estimated cost of $499,500 annually.
The report calls for a more intentional approach for younger students’ career exploration, asking for nine full-time advisors for kindergarten through fourth grade at an estimated cost of $999,000 annually.
The expense of career and technical education for grades 5 and above is subsidized by federal Perkins Act funding, but programs serving younger students are not eligible for these federal dollars.
Other recommendations include the creation of a grant program to incentivize schools to set up apprenticeship programs, internships and job shadowing.
The working group also proposed creating an online resource for “a comprehensive K-12 career awareness, exploration and preparation experience.” It would include “age-appropriate career interest surveys, hands-on activities and family engagement components.”
Supporting schools and their counselors is a key component of the recommendations, with proposals to create professional development programs centered around career and technical education.
The report acknowledges a struggle to staff enough school counselors to meet a recommended ratio of one counselor to 250 students. It recommends funding to hire support staff to take on non-counseling tasks so that counselors have more time to focus on career and academic development.