GCCC & Southwest KS Schools Seek Participants for Education Focus Groups
[Garden City, KS] November 15, 2023 -- Garden City Community College and Southwest Kansas schools are evaluating the Career & Technical Education Programs offered in the region through the Carl D. Perkins Career & Technical Education Act.
Business and industry partners who live or work in the following school districts are needed to participate in a 1-hour Focus Group: Cimarron-Ensign, Deerfield, Dighton, Garden City, Greeley County, Holcomb, Lakin, Leoti, Scott County, and Syracuse.
Focus Groups include:
- Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources
- Architecture & Construction
- Arts, Audio/Video Technology, & Communications
- Business, Management, & Administration
- Education & Training
- Engineering
- Finance
- Government & Public Administration
- Health & Biological Sciences
- Hospitality & Tourism
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing
- Transportation, Distribution, & Logistics
Please register for the Focus Group that best fits your career or area of expertise. Live attendance is encouraged when possible. The registration link will remain open in the event that you are unable to attend the online meeting or if the event date has already passed. In these cases, you can choose the option to provide feedback digitally and you will receive the information packet via email. Register here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MfoqErLVQMwUGK37yi0XHqJfb6kT2j3t/view.
For any questions, contact Julie Hahn, GCCC Technical Education Administrative Assistant at julie.hahn@gcccks.edu or Jenny Hands, USD #457 Career & Technical Education Coordinator, jhands@gckschools.com.
Perkins V Focus Group Purpose:
Secondary and postsecondary schools in Kansas receive federal funds called "Perkins Funds" which are specifically earmarked for courses that lead to careers that are deemed "high-skill, high-wage" by the state of Kansas. At the secondary level, these courses are referred to as Career & Technical Education (CTE) courses which are organized into pathways and clusters. At the postsecondary level these courses build to certificates and degrees. At both levels, our focus is on preparing students for the careers that our region needs.
In order to receive this very important funding, every 4 years, we must bring our communities together to evaluate the current workforce needs in our region by completing a document called the "Comprehensive Local Needs Assessment." In creating this document, we must work together to gather and review as many data points as possible to make a recommendation for all educational institutions in our defined region regarding each CTE cluster, pathway, certificate, and degree.
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Garden City Community College exists to produce positive contributors to the economic and social well-being of society.