Salina Public Schools' Building Bridges event connects students with industry

Students at Salina Public Schools met local industry leaders and employers this week in a night dedicated to showcasing the district’s career and technical education programs.

The Building Bridges event kicked off Thursday evening with Salina area leaders, school professionals, students and their families enjoying hors d’oeuvres prepared by Salina South High School’s culinary arts students.

Afterward, there was networking time before the keynote speaker Tom Christy shared about his journey to Salina and co-founding Geoprobe systems, a tooling and drilling rig manufacturing company.

The theme of the evening was entrepreneurship and locally owned businesses, and how Salina has historically been a successful location for starting new businesses.

“I’m starting to think, like, what is it in the water here that people invite and start companies here,” Christy said.

Entrepreneurship in Salina

The overarching goal of the evening was to not only showcase the existing CTE programs at Salina Public Schools but also to receive feedback from industry professionals to improve the district’s curriculum.

Before those in attendance broke out for tours of the various CTE programs, industry professionals filled out a short questionnaire that asked how they could support CTE in USD 305.

Options on the survey included: host job shadowing experiences, provide a faculty tour or field trip, be a classroom guest speaker and serving as a mock job interviewer, among other items.

“Salina is a community on the move, and it has been for a long time,” said Curtis Stevens, secondary director at USD 305. “In addition to supporting education, Salina, Kansas possesses a remarkable history of entrepreneurship. … We have one of the healthiest entrepreneurship ecosystems in Kansas and throughout the Midwest.”

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Several companies were recognized in this achievement of local entrepreneurship, including Blue Beacon Truck Washes, Exline Inc., Great Plains Manufacturing, Tony’s Pizza, Salina Vortex Corporation, Geoprobe Systems and others.

In his keynote speech, Christy said his mother was to blame for his entrepreneurial drive. He alluded to a book she read to him when he was young titled “The Fire Cat,” which depicted a cat named Pickles who “has big paws and wishes to do big things with them.”

“If you read stuff to a kid like that, look at what you’re doing to them. They’re going to start a quest of their own,” Christy said.

Getting students career ready

In the past five years, USD 305 saw a 46% increase in students earning industry-recognized credentials for high demand jobs while they are still in high school.

Superintendent Linn Exline said this data point and others like it is a testament toward individual teacher’s dedication to promoting student success.

“This is thanks to the teachers that you will meet tonight and their willingness to take risks and provide opportunities for students,” Exline said. “Those credentials pave the way to high demand, high wage jobs, many of them available right here in Salina.”

Salina Public Schools saw a 19.8% increase in CTE enrollment just last year. In the last five years, the district added 110 dual credit opportunities — where students can earn high school credit and post-secondary credit at the same time while they are still in high school.

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Industry professionals saw these features firsthand on the tours. Teachers and students alike shared projects and learning outcomes from a variety of CTE disciplines.

From culinary arts to construction, welding, marketing and digital media, health sciences and others, students showcased their passions to local industry leaders.

At the end of the evening, the school district received some feedback from the public about what it can improve in its CTE programming.

“It is clear that when we work together, we can grow greatness,” Exline said.

This year was only the second installment of the Building Bridges event, but it was successful enough the district plans to continue it as an annual outing. In the future, USD 305 is looking at either going back and forth between the high schools or an outside venue to host the event.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina Public Schools connects students with industry at annual event