Valley Schools Tracking Graduates In Order To Fine-Tune Curriculum

Most high schools in the Spokane Valley are keeping track of their graduates to see how many continue their education.

And in most cases, the closely watched figure is not how many students are going on to four-year schools, but how many choose two-year degrees.

It’s time to start valuing the two-year program, said Claudia Leppert, vocational director at West Valley High School. “That’s where the jobs are,” she said.

West Valley and other high schools are building school-to-work programs that emphasize specific skills in demand by employers.

“How is school-to-work going to affect (us) so that more students come out with higher academic and skills? By connecting the learning, the knowledge and the doing - the laboratory - with the work experience.”

At Freeman High School, counselor Ted Lundgren said he started tracking graduates a year ago to see if more were choosing two-year programs than four-year programs. In the class of ‘95, 48 percent of Freeman’s graduates chose a community college or vo-tech program. Among ‘96 graduates, that number grew to 55 percent.

Freeman’s tracking shows that about 83 percent of its ‘96 graduates are going on to some form of higher education.

University High School shows 73 percent of its ‘96 graduates seeking higher education. At Central Valley High, the figure is 64 percent.

East Valley High officials said they do not track their graduates.

“I wish I had better stats for you, but we just don’t keep numbers like that,” said Mike Van Matre, East Valley vice principal for curriculum.

Van Matre added that he could help design a better curriculum for the kids, if he knew where they go after graduation.

West Valley will track its ‘96 graduates in coming weeks. Its figures for the class of ‘95 show that 64 percent went on to some form of higher education.

Out of that, 37 percent enrolled in two-year colleges. West Valley has tracked its graduates since 1981. The number of graduates enrolling in two-year schools has varied, with the numbers generally increasing in recent years.

“Where is the place for the four-year degree? The place is for as many students as we can get to get there,” Leppert said. “But in the meantime, it’s time that we in the high school and community colleges started to articulate big time - if you have an interest in this area, you might want to take these courses (while in high school).”

West Valley puts each student through a week-long unit on career choices, emphasizing the skills they need to learn in high school and beyond, likely in a two-year program, Leppert said. “The beauty of it is, when they get out, then they can get a $14-an-hour job.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Graphic: Where to go after high school?