Wrangell Public School District will be partnering more closely with the University of Alaska Southeast’s Tech Prep Program in coming months, setting up an office for the program’s coordinator, Kimberly Szczatko.
A memorandum of understanding was approved by the Wrangell School Board earlier this month and a formal agreement is in the process of being signed, but tentatively, Szczatko expects to be relocated from the Juneau office by May.
Once here, Szczatko will be better able to assist high school students to enroll in tech prep programs, learning new skills while also accruing college credit.
“They’re going to be able to take advantage of things they weren’t able to before,” she said.
“It’s easy for me, but for an 18-year-old or a 19-year-old or sometimes even an adult... it can be difficult.”
She will also assist high school teachers and school faculty with existing programs. “They don’t have to worry about the registration forms for the students. I can take care of that.”
Courses now being offered include Woodworking I and II at the high school.
“We’re going to take a better look at that and see where it can go,” Szczatko said. One idea is to support a housebuilding project, which would give students experience with the different stages of construction. “That’s one thing we can do, is a nice house-build.”
After that, she explained the next step will be to work with school administrators to set up new classes for the fall. Courses being considered include welding, nursing and more specialized computer science courses.
“It would be really nice to get the health science up and running,” Szczatko commented.
She will also look into starting up a mining program next spring, which carries potential for internships and developing career paths within the industry.
“That would be a really nice program to try to get off the ground,” she said.
Currently, courses are being offered through the high school at $25 per credit. A further scholarship supported by the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce will give the opportunity for students unable to meet those costs to participate as well.
“It’s not only for high school students,” Szczatko added, explaining there are also opportunities for development of post-graduation assistance and adult education programs. This would allow workers the opportunity to continue earning a degree while remaining in the community.
“There’s a huge opportunity,” she said.
Once set up locally with an office, Szczatko explained she will be available to help with registrations, scholarship applications and programming.
“It would almost be like having a satellite UAS campus here,” school superintendent Patrick Mayer said at the school board’s last meeting.
“It helps me to do my job,” Szczatko further explained. “I meet more contacts in Wrangell than I do sitting in Juneau.”
A homeowner in Wrangell since 2010, the move will also be convenient for Szczatko. “It’s going to be fun for me, too,” she said. Her son already lives here, and the relocation will allow her to spend more time getting involved in the community.
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