The Paton-Churdan School District just kicked off its second half of the school year and two new programs at the high school are seeing success.

Principal Annie Smith says their new work-based program, which is led by their shared coordinator with Glidden-Ralston, Summer Boes. Smith says the School Board required an internship or a work-based learning program as a graduation requirement to help students get a feel for different careers before they leave high school. Smith points out the feedback about Boes and the work she is doing has been positive.

“A lot of students have taken exactly what their passions are, then they’re going out a couple of hours a day, and they’re getting hands-on experiences with that. It can be across the board, it really doesn’t matter. She (Summer) does a great job of listening to what the kids are interested in, kind of maybe where she’s hearing their passions lie and then trying to connect the dots there. It’s been such a phenomenal experience.”         

Another new high school class is a new media class which Smith says allows students to gain more knowledge of how to utilize social media, while at the same time providing marketing and messaging for the school district.