JH board questions some KSDE ideas

Recommendations from the Kansas State Department of Education on how to get high school students more "school-ready, work-ready and life-ready" are not sitting well with the Jackson Heights USD 335 Board of Education.

During the board's regular monthly meeting on Monday, board members met with Director of Student Services Joel Hesed to discuss recent conversations that school officials have been having in recent months on "what a Jackson Heights graduate should have" after graduation.

Those conversations, Hesed told the board, have included recommendations from KSDE on how to prepare students for life after high school and a suggestion that, for the first two years after graduation, the Kansas Board of Regents will hold high schools responsible for how their students turn out — suggestions that rankled board members.

Part of KSDE's reasoning behind the suggestions, Hesed noted, was that many students who go on to a four-year state college end up with about $100,000 in debt once their college years come to an end, making college "a really expensive choice, especially if you're just trying to find yourself." Furthermore, the majority of students take five years or more to obtain their degrees, sending that debt even higher, he said.

Another reason for KSDE's suggestions involves the rapidly declining number of well-paying jobs available to those who have only a high school education, Hesed said, pointing to a survey that concluded that "not one of the 50 top jobs" is available for students who do not continue their education after high school.

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