BV Unmuted: Career and Technical Education in Blue Valley

What does Career & Technical Education (CTE) really look like in 2026—and how is it shaping the future for Blue Valley students?

In this episode of BV Unmuted, Dr. Gillian Chapman sits down with Kennedy Zellers, a senior at Blue Valley High, Director of Career Ready Programs Adam Wessel and Blue Valley alumna and local business owner Ethan Kushnir to discuss how CTE is transforming learning beyond the traditional classroom. From running a high school store to partnering with real-world businesses, you’ll hear firsthand how students are building confidence, discovering strengths and gaining the skills today’s employers are actively seeking.

Together, they discuss the rapid growth of Blue Valley’s Career Ready programs, the evolving needs of the workforce and what excites district leaders and industry partners about what’s ahead.

Whether you are a parent, student, business leader or community member, this conversation offers insight into how Blue Valley is preparing students to navigate their future with purpose.

Listen now and discover how Blue Valley is preparing students to navigate their future with purpose.

Transcript

00;00;00;00 - 00;00;08;21
Blue Valley Teacher
I love Blue Valley because I feel a lot of support. It's a great community.

00;00;08;24 - 00;00;15;05
Blue Valley Teacher
We are a people that believe in excellence, that believe in constantly striving for more.

00;00;15;07 - 00;00;26;24
Blue Valley Student
I think that there is a lot of opportunities that I would have never explored on my own, and all of the teachers and staff here at Blue Valley make everything so much easier and more accessible.

00;00;26;24 - 00;00;56;02
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Welcome to Blue Valley. Unmuted. I'm doctor Gillian Chapman, superintendent of Blue Valley schools. Thanks for joining us today as we highlight Blue Valley's career and technical education programs. This is the perfect time to talk about this topic as February is Career technical Education Month. I'm looking forward to an insightful conversation that will allow listeners to understand CTE as it looks in Blue Valley and how the CT industry looks right now and in the future.

00;00;56;02 - 00;01;15;13
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Joining me in today's conversation is Kennedy Zellers, a senior at Blue Valley High School. Ethan Kushner, a Blue Valley North alumna and director of Operation and owner at Speaks Technology, Pay More. And Adam Wessel, Blue Valley's director of career ready programs. Thank you all so much for being here today.

00;01;15;13 - 00;01;17;10
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Adam, I'm going to start with you.

00;01;17;12 - 00;01;36;02
Dr. Gillian Chapman
For families who may still picture vocational education from years ago. Those who don't have high schoolers yet or those whose children didn't participate in CTE classes. Can you explain what career and technical education or CTE is and what it looks like in Blue Valley?

00;01;36;09 - 00;01;37;03
Adam Wessel
Yeah. You bet.

00;01;37;03 - 00;01;49;13
Adam Wessel
I think the one thing that people may not recognize about career and technical education is just the wide range of content and subject areas that we cover.

00;01;49;13 - 00;01;54;03
Adam Wessel
So many of us maybe, you know, were in high school, we took our,

00;01;54;03 - 00;01;57;24
Adam Wessel
traditional, woodshop class or our traditional,

00;01;57;24 - 00;02;04;26
Adam Wessel
home economics class, and really what CTE is and what it is, and Blue Valley,

00;02;04;26 - 00;02;09;18
Adam Wessel
it entails all courses for students who might take business classes,

00;02;09;18 - 00;02;12;21
Adam Wessel
our health science classes, engineering,

00;02;12;21 - 00;02;19;08
Adam Wessel
you know, biotech, vet science, all the programing we offer at Caps, as well as in our comprehensive high schools.

00;02;19;10 - 00;02;28;04
Adam Wessel
So it allows us to, offer a wide range of opportunities for students to learn,

00;02;28;04 - 00;02;30;25
Adam Wessel
additionally, to explore,

00;02;30;25 - 00;02;36;18
Adam Wessel
you know, career, post-secondary paths of study and,

00;02;36;18 - 00;02;39;06
Adam Wessel
to meet the wide ranging needs

00;02;39;06 - 00;02;41;02
Adam Wessel
and interests of our students.

00;02;41;04 - 00;02;52;10
Dr. Gillian Chapman
So I know our CT programs have experienced significant growth over the past several years and and the industry in general, and also the perceptions of people in the past.

00;02;52;10 - 00;02;55;06
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Adam, can you talk about how the program,

00;02;55;06 - 00;03;00;25
Dr. Gillian Chapman
in Blue Valley has evolved and what are some of the reasons for this growth in Blue Valley?

00;03;00;27 - 00;03;02;12
Adam Wessel
I think one of the main

00;03;02;12 - 00;03;16;08
Adam Wessel
reasons for growth is that our students can really see the relevance of career and technical education. They're able to learn about, you know, a potential profession or learn more about,

00;03;16;08 - 00;03;33;24
Adam Wessel
a potential, more specific path of study that they might have after they graduate from Blue Valley High School. I would also say that we have done a much better job of aligning what we're teaching our students to what is happening out in business and industry.

00;03;33;26 - 00;03;41;12
Adam Wessel
Obviously, we have to scale it and and provide it in a context of our high schools and our middle schools. But,

00;03;41;12 - 00;03;47;06
Adam Wessel
the amount of work that we do to engage with businesses and industry, both in,

00;03;47;06 - 00;03;55;04
Adam Wessel
bringing some of those folks into our schools to work with our students, we have advisory boards that we engage with, with,

00;03;55;04 - 00;03;56;27
Adam Wessel
all of the areas that,

00;03;56;27 - 00;03;58;27
Adam Wessel
we offer here in Blue Valley.

00;03;59;00 - 00;04;18;25
Adam Wessel
And we really try to do as much as we can give students an idea of what a specific business or industry or a specific pathway might look like for them when they graduate from high school, so that they can really start to identify what are the areas I'm interested in.

00;04;18;25 - 00;04;22;05
Adam Wessel
Also a big win. What are the areas I'm not interested in?

00;04;22;07 - 00;04;36;09
Adam Wessel
And we can potentially save students a lot of time and money after they graduate from high school, because we've given them an opportunity to really have a firm understanding of what it is that I would like to do when I graduate from Blue Valley.

00;04;36;11 - 00;04;57;23
Dr. Gillian Chapman
That's fantastic. And I think one of the things that really sets Blue Valley's programing apart from other school districts is giving our students that leg up, if you will. Kennedy. I'd like to switch to you and learn more about your experience in career and technical education in Blue Valley. Take us back to when you first signed up for a CTE class during your freshman year.

00;04;57;25 - 00;05;06;16
Dr. Gillian Chapman
What made you take that step, and was it a path that you were confident pursuing, or were you just trying to do to determine your interest?

00;05;06;19 - 00;05;26;01
Kennedy Zellers
Yeah, going back to leading into my freshman year, I didn't really know where I was headed. I didn't I was involved in lots of activities and sports, and that was really my main focus. And I wasn't really sure what my career would look like for the future. And so I really just took these introductory classes to kind of figure out what I wanted to do.

00;05;26;03 - 00;05;51;04
Kennedy Zellers
And my first step was taking business essentials with Mrs. Peris. And that was really just how I took my first steps into business and really got a look into what it really looks like and what experience are available to me. And then I also took 21st century journalism with Mrs. Huss, and that was just really the Adobe softwares and really marketing and journalism and all those things.

00;05;51;04 - 00;05;58;23
Kennedy Zellers
And so these introductory classes just really got me looking ahead and looking into what I wanted to do for the future.

00;05;58;25 - 00;06;01;03
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Fantastic. Thank you. You've been,

00;06;01;03 - 00;06;04;04
Dr. Gillian Chapman
involved in Blue Valley High School's store,

00;06;04;04 - 00;06;10;18
Dr. Gillian Chapman
as part of your marketing management class for three years now. What skills have you developed through this class?

00;06;10;20 - 00;06;42;01
Kennedy Zellers
Yeah, I've developed so many skills that I am just super grateful for that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere else, honestly. So basically, leadership has been I mean, just throughout my experience, I've learned so many soft skills as well. So starting back my freshman year, Mrs. Peris introduced me to what Tigers Ink was. So I applied and interviewed and got a spot my sophomore year, and I started as a feeder schools line member, where I really just serviced the five feeder schools at the time.

00;06;42;04 - 00;07;05;08
Kennedy Zellers
We ran our online store, we ran in-person events, and I also just worked on fulfillment as well. And so that just really helped me introduce myself and introduce what school store was for me into that first year. And so after that, I became the feeder schools manager my junior year, where I really just kind of had to step up and take lead.

00;07;05;08 - 00;07;29;18
Kennedy Zellers
I wasn't expected to do that, but I really wanted to do that, and it was something that I really enjoyed. And so under my management, I was able to take on two more feeder schools. So now we service all seven feeder schools, which was something that wasn't attainable under previous management. So I was super excited about that and just be able to service all in middle schools and elementary schools and kind of give back in that aspect.

00;07;29;21 - 00;07;32;02
Kennedy Zellers
And then this year, I was able to,

00;07;32;02 - 00;07;52;20
Kennedy Zellers
be the executive manager of Tigers Inc.. And so I've really just grown immensely, honestly. And being able to problem solve, think critically, and just gain those soft skills that you wouldn't really be able to attain in other classes. So just like a math or English class, this really has just pushed me and given me confidence and what I want to do for the future.

00;07;52;23 - 00;07;53;17
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Thank you.

00;07;53;17 - 00;08;04;21
Dr. Gillian Chapman
You mentioned so many CTE related projects or experiences that you've been involved in. Is there anything that maybe stands out to you either through,

00;08;04;21 - 00;08;09;18
Dr. Gillian Chapman
your work now or those beginning stages like your freshman, sophomore years?

00;08;09;18 - 00;08;13;12
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Where or maybe a different class that you connected all of that to?

00;08;13;14 - 00;08;28;28
Kennedy Zellers
Yeah. So from my experiences in school store, Mrs. Peris also encouraged me to join our business clubs. So this is kind of like a side tangent to these classes. And I've really enjoyed participating in this. And last year,

00;08;28;28 - 00;08;36;25
Kennedy Zellers
NBPA, which is Business Professionals of America, two of my classmates and I, we wrote a business,

00;08;36;25 - 00;08;39;10
Kennedy Zellers
business plan for a startup enterprise.

00;08;39;10 - 00;08;49;14
Kennedy Zellers
So we basically wrote what we did we do at Tigers Inc. and we kind of implemented that, and then we presented it nationally and got ninth in the nation. So that was,

00;08;49;14 - 00;08;57;05
Kennedy Zellers
an incredible achievement for me. And it really just opened my eyes into what was possible. So that was an experience that I really enjoyed.

00;08;57;08 - 00;09;02;22
Dr. Gillian Chapman
I can see why that is fantastic. And the ninth in the country is amazing.

00;09;02;22 - 00;09;08;21
Dr. Gillian Chapman
So one more question that as I know I have several more for you, but,

00;09;08;21 - 00;09;19;03
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Kennedy, how has CTE changed your thoughts on what you want to do after high school or opened your eyes to the various careers you could potentially pursue?

00;09;19;05 - 00;09;42;19
Kennedy Zellers
Yeah, to be completely honest, I had no clue what I was going to do starting my freshman year. I mean, looking back at fifth grade, I wanted to be a pediatrician, so I look at where I am now. So I really just these CTE CTE programs have really just expanded my perspectives, and I've really been able to gain these skills that I wouldn't have been able to obtain in other classes.

00;09;42;19 - 00;09;56;24
Kennedy Zellers
And so taking these classes and being a part of these experiences have really just shaped me and led me into what I want to do in the future. So I am currently going to COO next year and get,

00;09;56;24 - 00;10;12;01
Kennedy Zellers
major in business administration and possibly marketing as well. So these classes have really just been so formative and really taught me the skills, the essential basic topics of what I need to know going into college.

00;10;12;03 - 00;10;22;16
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Well, you definitely have a great start. When I was young, I wanted to be a cheerleader, so I, I really appreciate the fact that you had some different goals.

00;10;22;16 - 00;10;24;09
Dr. Gillian Chapman
And there are long term goals.

00;10;24;09 - 00;10;25;11
Dr. Gillian Chapman
As you,

00;10;25;11 - 00;10;32;28
Dr. Gillian Chapman
look ahead to your future beyond Blue Valley, how do you think if there's anything else to add? Because you've add so much already.

00;10;32;28 - 00;10;42;15
Dr. Gillian Chapman
But how do you think the career tech ed program that we have here in Blue Valley has set you up for success or prepared you to take that journey?

00;10;42;15 - 00;10;48;20
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Especially when you essentially wanted to be a pediatrician early on and how you have pivoted.

00;10;48;20 - 00;10;50;11
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Tell us a little bit more about that.

00;10;50;13 - 00;11;13;27
Kennedy Zellers
Yeah. I think the teachers at Blue Valley, especially the CTE program teachers, have been just instrumental to my success. They have pushed me into the confidence I have now. I mean, looking back my freshman year, I couldn't stand up and present in the classroom of 20 people, and now I can stand up and present to judges, professionals and all those things.

00;11;13;27 - 00;11;36;12
Kennedy Zellers
And really, it's just helped me gain the skills, the soft skills that you you wouldn't get in another environment. And I've just been really grateful for the experience. I mean, you look around and not many people have these opportunities. And so I'm just really grateful for all the experiences, especially school store, that have just been the real world business experience that,

00;11;36;12 - 00;11;39;27
Kennedy Zellers
I've utilized on scholarships on my resume.

00;11;39;29 - 00;11;47;14
Kennedy Zellers
And those all those things have gotten me into programs and gotten me scholarships that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

00;11;47;16 - 00;12;05;22
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Ethan, let's turn to you. You have a unique perspective as you own a local business that is partnered with Blue Valley on some client connected projects, and you're a Blue Valley alumna who took several CTE classes. Tell us about your experience in the CTE program during your time in Blue Valley schools?

00;12;05;24 - 00;12;12;29
Ethan Kushner
Yeah. So I, I think I pretty much took like every possible business class that I think was offered,

00;12;12;29 - 00;12;15;02
Ethan Kushner
during my time at North. And,

00;12;15;02 - 00;12;29;10
Ethan Kushner
it really started my freshman year. I signed up for an elective for a business class that I don't think I was even supposed to be in, and I ended up, and it really changed the way that I viewed the classes, and I was trying to get myself in.

00;12;29;12 - 00;12;31;20
Ethan Kushner
I was fortunate enough to grow up with,

00;12;31;20 - 00;12;51;10
Ethan Kushner
a father who ran a successful business. So I always kind of thought that I wanted to go into business in some, some way or another. But I, as a freshman in high school, that's just not what I was thinking of. So once I once I took that class, I kind of went down a spiral of every single business class that I could take there over the next three and a half years.

00;12;51;12 - 00;12;57;17
Ethan Kushner
And then I found the Caps program, which I think really changed the way that I viewed what I wanted to do. And,

00;12;57;17 - 00;13;10;23
Ethan Kushner
I was in Caps my senior year, and I took their entrepreneurship program there, and it was probably the most impactful class that I think I've ever taken. And I got to create a prototype. I got to go to the design process of,

00;13;10;23 - 00;13;20;23
Ethan Kushner
idea product, going through the financial aspects, marketing everything, and then got to pitch it to a Shark Tank style investor thing at the end.

00;13;20;26 - 00;13;33;28
Ethan Kushner
And to me, that showed me I 100% want to be in business one way or another. I'd love to be an entrepreneur, but who knows if that's where it will take me. But that's my end goal at some point in life is to become an entrepreneur.

00;13;33;28 - 00;13;42;07
Dr. Gillian Chapman
So in life, as you've probably already figured out, timing is everything. And you said you started your freshman year in a class that you really didn't

00;13;42;07 - 00;13;48;04
Dr. Gillian Chapman
mean to be in by accident, if you will. And of course, your your dad had sort of planted a seed about,

00;13;48;04 - 00;13;49;14
Dr. Gillian Chapman
being in business.

00;13;49;14 - 00;13;52;25
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Ethan, can you tell me more about what skills,

00;13;52;25 - 00;13;59;23
Dr. Gillian Chapman
that you gained from your CTE classes and and what you might have not earned if you weren't in that program?

00;13;59;25 - 00;14;17;14
Ethan Kushner
Yeah, I think the most I think the two most important skills that I was able to learn actually probably came from that entrepreneurship class. And it was attention to detail and problem solving. And you can kind of throw critical thinking in there as well. But I really didn't have a lot of that. Not that I wasn't good at it.

00;14;17;14 - 00;14;43;20
Ethan Kushner
I just didn't really have the opportunities to use it in my math and English classes. And even some of the regular business classes were just had textbooks stuff, their assignments online, on paper, whatever it was. But to be able to really have the freedom in that entrepreneurship class, to come up with my own idea, figure out how to source the items needed to build a prototype, and then go through the whole process myself with direction from my teacher.

00;14;43;20 - 00;14;59;15
Ethan Kushner
But it was really on us to come up with the financials. Would it work? How would it work? What does it look like? How does it operate? That showed me that I really needed to do a lot of extra research, a lot of extra thinking on how can I build this, how can I build it effectively? Would it even work?

00;14;59;16 - 00;15;15;22
Ethan Kushner
Who is this for? You don't really learn that stuff with your head in a textbook, so being able to have that kind of real world level experience was super impactful to me. And honestly, Tommy Skills I use every single day now, and without those that don't think I would be very good at my job right now.

00;15;15;24 - 00;15;16;09
Dr. Gillian Chapman
So,

00;15;16;09 - 00;15;20;12
Dr. Gillian Chapman
it sounds like you had a lot of trial and error, a lot of failing forward.

00;15;20;12 - 00;15;26;22
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Which you really don't. You get you don't get those opportunities in a traditional social studies class or math class.

00;15;26;22 - 00;15;32;01
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Because the fear of failure or risking failure does come with some consequences.

00;15;32;01 - 00;15;39;16
Dr. Gillian Chapman
So it sounds like in our career in tech ed programs, you were able to fail forward, try something, scrap it, start over.

00;15;39;19 - 00;15;50;24
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Kennedy, anything to add from your experience about the skills that you learned in your CTE classes that maybe you wouldn't have learned were it not for being enrolled in those classes?

00;15;50;24 - 00;16;01;17
Kennedy Zellers
Yeah, I think specifically in school Store, just that trial and error as you're mentioning, is something that I encounter every single day. So working with our vendors to,

00;16;01;17 - 00;16;13;27
Kennedy Zellers
get our apparel, if there's so many things that happen. But I mean, price points and all those things that change day to day, I mean, we are seeing obviously increases in prices.

00;16;13;27 - 00;16;15;25
Kennedy Zellers
So we've had to alter,

00;16;15;25 - 00;16;42;15
Kennedy Zellers
what we are selling it for and all those things that you wouldn't really understand until you encountered it in a real setting. And so just working with those vendors have has really impacted the way I see things and the way I perceive problem solving and critical thinking. I think also working with our PTO is we have PTO meetings yearly with the feeder schools that we work with and also all of our vendors.

00;16;42;17 - 00;16;48;11
Kennedy Zellers
And there's certain things that we don't see from the outside. And so getting that insight,

00;16;48;11 - 00;16;50;02
Kennedy Zellers
really helps to just

00;16;50;02 - 00;17;03;07
Kennedy Zellers
understand what goes on in those elementary and middle schools. And that's something that we've had to work with as well. I mean, there's changes that happen every single day. And so really understanding and communicating and understanding how to communicate with these principles.

00;17;03;07 - 00;17;07;21
Kennedy Zellers
And PTO has really been something that's super impactful as well.

00;17;07;23 - 00;17;14;20
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Yeah. So those soft skills and being able to manage change on the fly and understanding it's a dynamic,

00;17;14;20 - 00;17;17;21
Dr. Gillian Chapman
process. And, and you're dealing with human beings. So,

00;17;17;21 - 00;17;30;13
Dr. Gillian Chapman
managing all that at once, I think an important component to this conversation is that today's employers are looking for a different set of skills than they were, say, 10 to 15 years ago and potentially even a year ago.

00;17;30;15 - 00;17;36;15
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Ethan, from your perspective, what are employers looking for in today's workforce?

00;17;36;18 - 00;17;36;27
Ethan Kushner
No,

00;17;36;27 - 00;18;01;29
Ethan Kushner
I, I don't know what employers a long time ago, obviously we're looking for, but I imagine there might be some overlap. But things are moving really fast now, especially with technology, where one day there's this, next day there's something completely different. So that kind of goes back to being able to problem solving critical think if you really can't do that, it's going to be really hard to survive, not just from a retail setting, but a corporate setting as well.

00;18;01;29 - 00;18;19;17
Ethan Kushner
It's going to be really hard to adjust to change. I know a lot of these massive companies are constantly going through change, and if you don't know how to adjust to that problem solve, really think for yourself and figure out the best plan of action for yourself. And you're just kind of going with the flow. You're never going to make it.

00;18;19;19 - 00;18;41;23
Ethan Kushner
I think there is also a component of sales to almost every job, whether it's selling something, an idea, or even yourself. If you really can't do that, it's going to be really hard to get a job. I think there's lots of people out there that can get any job they want, regardless of their background, because they can talk themselves into a job and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

00;18;41;25 - 00;18;57;00
Ethan Kushner
That's, if anything, the most for you specifically would be the most positive thing. If you could sell yourself into or talk yourself into any job. But I'd say that those three are probably the most impactful things that at least I look for, and I can imagine others look for as well.

00;18;57;03 - 00;19;01;01
Dr. Gillian Chapman
A lot of confidence and and soft skills, as Kennedy mentioned, as well.

00;19;01;01 - 00;19;08;04
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Ethan. From a business perspective, what can Blue Valley do to continue to place itself at the front edge of CTE?

00;19;08;06 - 00;19;19;29
Ethan Kushner
I think continuing to offer these real world experiences, even outside of the school building caps, I had the opportunity to go work with Blue Valley Southwest and Blue Valley North on a

00;19;19;29 - 00;19;23;26
Ethan Kushner
45 day marketing schedule for for my business. And,

00;19;23;26 - 00;19;33;27
Ethan Kushner
we, we sell technology. So we're trying to find out ways to use social media or just low cost advertising ways around the city that we can gain more exposure into the correct demographics.

00;19;33;27 - 00;19;56;06
Ethan Kushner
So we were able to give these students actual demographic information, an actual budget that we need to work around. And they were able to take that, and they created us all these different 45 day schedules with different events when we should post things, what we should post, different things we could do around the city, like fliers, all within the actual budget that we have set for our, our company.

00;19;56;08 - 00;20;18;06
Ethan Kushner
And I think stuff like that really helps students feel one, a part of their community, even at such a young age, but also feel like they're making an impact on an actual business. Like there's stuff that there were ideas that they got that we've used, and to us that was extremely impactful. But to a student, I could see they're looking on our Instagram and they're like, wait, that was my idea.

00;20;18;06 - 00;20;34;18
Ethan Kushner
Like, that was, that's awesome. And stuff like that, I think helps people figure out one what they're interested in, but also what what it really takes to run a business, whether it's through marketing, advertising, financial, whatever it may be, they get some sort of insight into what the real world,

00;20;34;18 - 00;20;38;04
Ethan Kushner
real world actually looks like and how it operates.

00;20;38;06 - 00;20;39;06
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Well, thank you for,

00;20;39;06 - 00;20;43;14
Dr. Gillian Chapman
involving our students and paying paying forward, paying it backward.

00;20;43;14 - 00;20;52;25
Dr. Gillian Chapman
However, way you look at it, Adam, how has Blue Valley established itself as a good partner to our local businesses and prepared our students for future jobs?

00;20;52;27 - 00;20;53;18
Adam Wessel
Yeah, I think,

00;20;53;18 - 00;21;00;16
Adam Wessel
you know, the work that we're doing, similar to what we've engaged with Ethan and pay more,

00;21;00;16 - 00;21;04;26
Adam Wessel
reaching out to our business community about different ways that they can get involved.

00;21;04;26 - 00;21;15;02
Adam Wessel
There's a mutually beneficial experience there. Obviously. Ethan spoke, you know, to both of those, but it is so engaging for our students.

00;21;15;02 - 00;21;16;18
Adam Wessel
They get something out of it.

00;21;16;18 - 00;21;25;25
Adam Wessel
And we hope that our business and industry partners that they come in and work with, our students do as well. And and we find that they often do,

00;21;25;25 - 00;21;29;28
Adam Wessel
both just yeah, we can take this and apply it, but also,

00;21;29;28 - 00;21;34;25
Adam Wessel
just an opportunity to, as you stated, perhaps give back to the community as well.

00;21;34;25 - 00;21;49;08
Adam Wessel
I think also, you know, the work that we do to try and understand what's going on out there in business and industry as much as we can and engaging with our partners through our advisory boards, gaining their perspectives.

00;21;49;08 - 00;21;51;28
Adam Wessel
You know, a good example, next month,

00;21;51;28 - 00;22;00;12
Adam Wessel
all of our CTE teachers will spend half a day in March on our PD day, we align them to go out and visit with various,

00;22;00;12 - 00;22;01;22
Adam Wessel
companies and industry,

00;22;01;22 - 00;22;13;04
Adam Wessel
across the KC metro to immerse themselves essentially for a half day in that workplace. Learn from the folks out there so that they can bring that information back.

00;22;13;06 - 00;22;31;28
Adam Wessel
You know, we have our IT and programing and software folks going to spend the day at Net smart. Our construction and design teachers are going out with Michael Gordon to tour Wolf Springs Middle School. And so not only does that bring relevance to what they're teaching,

00;22;31;28 - 00;22;37;08
Adam Wessel
it also allows them to learn from industry and bring that back and then apply it to their classrooms.

00;22;37;14 - 00;22;40;21
Adam Wessel
So, you know, just anything that we can do.

00;22;40;21 - 00;22;51;17
Adam Wessel
And then I would say, ultimately, we are trying to prepare our students to go out and be successful in our community after they graduate, you know, not only,

00;22;51;17 - 00;23;06;15
Adam Wessel
the work we do to develop productive young adults, but we also want to develop productive young professionals. And you know, we know that the work that we do is impactful for our labor force, our local workforce.

00;23;06;18 - 00;23;24;28
Adam Wessel
And, you know, we are trying to do as much as we can to prepare, you know, students like Kennedy, who, if I say so myself, I feel like we've done a very good job. And and much of that credit is obviously hers. But the experiences that we've been able to offer for students like Kennedy and others,

00;23;24;28 - 00;23;30;12
Adam Wessel
allows them to, after high school, really go out and experience that success.

00;23;30;14 - 00;23;34;04
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Adam, you're just a terrific ambassador for Blue Valley School District.

00;23;34;04 - 00;23;46;02
Dr. Gillian Chapman
And you have so much passion and it's obvious. So what excites you the most about the future of our programs and how we will continue to prepare our students for their futures, not ours?

00;23;46;02 - 00;23;54;05
Adam Wessel
Yeah. I think, you know, we are having some exciting conversations about what CTE looks like in the future. And Blue Valley,

00;23;54;05 - 00;23;59;06
Adam Wessel
our students right now, all current eighth graders through juniors, are engaging in a,

00;23;59;06 - 00;24;07;29
Adam Wessel
survey around what they are looking for and potentially what they see as future options in career in tech ed. So we certainly,

00;24;07;29 - 00;24;11;06
Adam Wessel
want to know what our students want to learn,

00;24;11;06 - 00;24;16;02
Adam Wessel
what areas are they interested in where some of those areas that we might be,

00;24;16;02 - 00;24;20;12
Adam Wessel
needing to provide more programing for students and their changing interests,

00;24;20;12 - 00;24;24;20
Adam Wessel
as well as what are the areas where we can enhance what we're already doing.

00;24;24;22 - 00;24;36;02
Adam Wessel
So that excites me because I do feel like that student voice is so critical, and we need to kind of follow where they're leading us and offer what they're wanting.

00;24;36;02 - 00;24;41;03
Adam Wessel
You know, additionally, we've we've done some nice investments with some of our facilities.

00;24;41;03 - 00;24;45;27
Adam Wessel
We will finish up this summer around of updating all of our culinary spaces,

00;24;45;27 - 00;24;47;01
Adam Wessel
in all of our high schools.

00;24;47;01 - 00;25;04;00
Adam Wessel
So that's exciting as well. But the thing that ultimately excites me the most is when, you know, you get an opportunity to interact with students like Kennedy and, and her, you know, colleagues at the student store. And full disclosure, her Tigers eat creates all of our fire science,

00;25;04;00 - 00;25;07;01
Adam Wessel
uniforms. And they do a fantastic job. And so,

00;25;07;01 - 00;25;19;17
Adam Wessel
just to be able to go out and see that student experience, see the level of engagement, see how they are drawn to the relevance of what we're doing, and ultimately, you know, see,

00;25;19;17 - 00;25;25;16
Adam Wessel
former students like Ethan go on and be able to apply perhaps some of those things that they've learned to Blue Valley.

00;25;25;23 - 00;25;36;22
Adam Wessel
Take advantage of some of the programing that they've had in Blue Valley and go out and be successful after high school and after college and, and come back and offer those opportunities to future students.

00;25;36;24 - 00;26;01;24
Dr. Gillian Chapman
Great. Thank you, Ethan and Kennedy and Adam for the insightful conversation. It's been great to hear how our CTE programs have evolved over the years, and I'm excited to see how they continue to grow in the future. One of the things that stands out most to me about these programs and the classes, is that they're all about helping students discover their strengths, build a confidence, and gain skills that will serve them well into the future.

00;26;01;27 - 00;26;12;29
Dr. Gillian Chapman
I'm proud to be part of a district that values engaging and authentic learning, strong business partnerships, and creating opportunities beyond the traditional classroom. Have a great day! Blue Valley.