Relationships with K through 12 Districts

The community colleges are an entry point for postsecondary education and to the work force for many students. For the community colleges to be effective, they must form partnerships with the area school districts.

A higher level of skills is required to succeed in college and in the new information-age workplace. The computer has become a tool in almost every job. Math, science, and communication skills are equally important. Area employers want the hard technical skills to be mastered, but also those soft skills. They want employees who have computational skills, employees who can think and communicate, employees who can work in teams.

Community colleges subsequently have worked with our K-12 colleagues to help students make the transition to college or the work force. For several years, the colleges have allowed gifted and talented students to take college classes while still in high school, but we knew that was relatively easy because those honor students already had the prerequisites for college-level work.

The community colleges worked with the high-school districts to form the same kind of articulation agreements that we have with the four-year schools. The colleges also have shared information about the prerequisites for entry into college-level transfer and career programs with all the students and perhaps, more importantly, with the parents of those students. Through a program called Tech Prep, the colleges, working closely with the high schools, have begun to encourage students to prepare themselves while still in high school to take the proper prerequisite course of study to prepare them to be successful as they continue in postsecondary education. Some colleges have even provided students the opportunity to take assessment tests in the sophomore or junior year so that the students can identify strengths or weakness and make the appropriate course decisions to help them succeed after high school.

For education to really work, there must be a planned and seamless system K-16. Our nation's future success depends upon a highly trained work force. A true collaboration must exist at all levels; the Metropolitan Community College District, Kansas City Kansas Community College, and Johnson County Community College, the partners in the middle, are committed to that goal.
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