‘Oh, phew, that one’s at my home high school,’ or ‘oh no, that’s not at my home high school,’” Epps said. “When we go through the list of academies with the eighth graders, what they’re about and where they are, you can kind of hear the oohs and aahs.

Students apply in eighth grade to whichever 21st Century Academy aligns with their interests. Olathe solves that problem by situating career and technical education within the normal school day. They don’t want to spend an hour on a bus traveling between their high school and the career campus, especially when that time could be spent taking classes that boost their GPA and bolster their resume. That’s been one of the barriers to getting college-bound students to take career education classes. “This gives the students who’ve wanted to be a paleontologist since they were five, or a doctor, or a teacher, a way to focus all four years of high school in that career field,” said Angela Epps, the 21st Century Academies coordinator for the Olathe Public Schools.Īnd it gives them that opportunity without having to leave the high school environment. While there are students who ride a bus every day to the Olathe Advanced Technical Center to take classes in the construction trades or culinary arts, a lot more – a quarter of all high school students in Olathe – are enrolled in one of the 21st Century Academies, located within the district’s five high schools. Olathe Public Schools has taken a different approach to career and technical education than the other big, suburban school districts. “I know that one of my weaknesses was anchoring and speaking, and I’ve really improved.”

“I know how to make things look good in pre- and post-production,” said Beckwith. KCUR 89.3 Lilly Beckwith, left, and a classmate watch the taping of 'ONW NOW,' Olathe Northwest's weekly news broadcast.

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