During West Central Valley’s monthly School District Board of Directors meeting last week, members received a presentation from guidance counselors Tricia Oltmanns and Meghan King about what the district does to prepare its students for life after high school.
Superintendent Dr. David Arnold tells Raccoon Valley Radio he was overly impressed with the presentation, saying he’s ‘proud’ not just of teachers like Oltmanns and King for providing the many opportunities available to students, but also of his students for seeing those opportunities and taking advantage.
King, the high school’s at-risk counselor, says the biggest opportunities currently available to students pertain to the bevy of upper-level, dual-credit courses that can be taken at West Central Valley.
“It’s at the point now where we offer so many upper-level classes to our students that some of them can get almost their first year of college paid for by the district by taking these dual-credit options and post-secondary education options as well.”
King also highlights future career courses and job shadowing classes at the high school as other ways students can get a grasp of what happens in the next phase of their lives.
For King, being in a position to impact what might happen to a student once they leave their Wildcat days–that is what gives her satisfaction as an educator.
“I think we all just really like to see our students graduate and do well and be successful in whatever that is for them. We enjoy seeing our students come back, seeing how they’ve grown and how they’ve changed… and I’ve been with the district for 10 years now and it is great to see kids come back at different times just to see where they are, and it’s just great to see our kids being successful in whatever that is for them.”
In her 10 years in the district, King says she’s not sure West Central Valley has changed the way it prepares students for life after high school, but she is sure there is more emphasis on that preparation. King says that is evidenced by the fact the district’s curriculum has grown in recent years to incorporate challenging classes that aren’t offered elsewhere.