Southern Columbia moves to revise CTE Co-op ahead of program evaluation

District administrators told the board they are revising the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Co-op and other CTE pathways to meet state and federal requirements before an approved-program technical evaluation scheduled to begin next school year.

Dr Gaikowski said the four-credit Co-op Capstone will require students to meet with the co-op teacher for 45 minutes every week (or 90 minutes every other week), and will include a minimum of one on-site job-training evaluation per student each month. "This Capstone will require the students to meet with the co-op teacher for 45 minutes every week," Dr Gaikowski said. For students who choose the four-credit option, the position must be paid; the district also proposed a short-term internship option worth one to two credits that would be unpaid but still supervised and require weekly meetings with the co-op teacher.

The revisions respond to several compliance gaps staff identified: the current Co-op lacked a consistent curriculum, student learning outcomes and routine site visits, and the district needs to centralize liability documentation and travel logs for on-site evaluations. Mr Snider confirmed liability paperwork exists but is not yet held by the co-op teacher and will be consolidated as part of the revision process.

Staff said the changes are intended to align the district with program technical guidelines and to prepare for auditors who will be on site for an evaluation week beginning next September. As part of implementation, staff recommended clearer teacher schedules, goal-setting between co-op facilitators and students, and a secure filing system for required records.

Board members acknowledged the need for a steady schedule and clear learning outcomes and discussed offering internships (1–2 credits) for students seeking practical experience who are not ready for the full Capstone. Dr Gaikowski also reported outreach to local farmers and organizations for support of a new agriculture pathway and said teacher interviews and occupational advisory committees will continue as the district formalizes program-of-study approvals.

The board did not take a final vote on a policy change at the meeting; staff said full program breakdowns and the revised Co-op guidelines are posted in the board documents for further review and will return for action as needed.