by John Dowd
As the world changes, and parents look for better options to prepare their children for the future, Hamilton School District is initiating a new program to get ahead of the game. Tom Korst, Hamilton Superintendent, is excited about their new charter school program, which will offer new opportunities for students and the community this coming year.
This will be the first year for Bitterroot Polytechnic, Hamilton’s new charter program. Starting this fall, it will include both part-time and full time student participants. So far, they have around 50 students enrolled in the charter school program. Korst said this new program goes much further than students that have difficulty with a traditional school model.
Korst described the program as “forward thinking,” focusing on experiential and hands-on learning. The program will also be technology based, including state of the art education techniques to allow flexibility and hopefully improved preparation for adult life in a career.
“We’re trying to connect students with in-demand and personally rewarding careers and college opportunities,” said Korst.
Participating students will also have the ability to take courses held on the weekend, or in the evenings, so that they can work regular hours during the week and gather on-the-job experience. Much of the programming will have a heavy emphasis on work-based learning and apprenticeships for those looking to get a jump on the workforce. However, it does not stop there.
Korst said this will “expand the school day,” allowing more flexibility to students with online and odd hour courses. He said the program is all about finding a path that “makes the most sense to them,” and to preparing them to go into college and the workforce.
According to Korst, Hamilton Schools is looking at three particular tracks for students in their new charter school program. The first of these includes the traditional college track, aiding students in their path to college, in a nontraditional way. The second track would focus on professional and accredited career training. This would include programs like nursing or technical trades. The third and final track would tap into community needs for programs, like landscaping, automotive and more. These would be career paths that may not have specific or industry recognized certifications, but rely heavily on experience in the field. “There are kids that know exactly where they want to go,” said Korst. “Why don’t we make it easier?”
Hamilton Schools would also like to open the portal to the community, similar to a community college. Korst said he has seen the need locally for further adult education. This adult ed component would not be as financially subsidized as the high school program, but would allow the school to more directly serve the greater community. He believes this program for adults could open up soon, even within the year.
Hamilton’s new charter program is trying to make K-12 more relevant to students, Korst said. He hopes this will help all students, “not just those that don’t see the benefits of a traditional school model.” Their goal is to allow this program to translate into the general student population, meaning that any student will have access to this programming.
Korst added that the program could help students in the traditional school model do more within their school district, and chase opportunities that could help them more directly down the road. He also believes it will provide further opportunities to their already existing alternative learning center, which has been in operation for around a decade. This program also creates the opportunity for a five-year program, for those students that are still not aged-out by the time they graduate.
It will also allow high school students access to college courses, often paying 1/8 the price to take these as they would going to a traditional college after graduation. This would limit the time and money students will need to spend to further their education. Korst believes this will be especially potent for two to three year degrees, meaning that a student could theoretically get more than half of their degree out of the way before even getting into college. It could also mean, for trade skills, students jumping right into the workforce, well trained and certified. Students can do this all while still in high school and earning high school credits at the same time.
“It is truly an innovative program, and not anti-public school at all,” said Korst. He believes the two can work well together, in the same vein. However, the program is still in its initial period, and Korst noted, “We’re building it as we fly it.” Korst expressed that they are still figuring out the details of how the project is going to operate. They are currently looking at ways to create pathways that feed middle school students into the program as well.
Korst said Bitterroot Polytechnic is more of an idea and a philosophy than an actual location, though he said they are fortunate to have a location as well. Even with the physical location, Korst wanted to explicitly state that this program allows for operation from anywhere, including on the job, at home or in a traditional classroom.
Though the ideas are still being fleshed out, they plan to have their website up and with a solid set of pathways for students to look at by the end of the program’s first year. They plan to use paths students pioneer as templates for future established pathways. As Korst put it, “We’re going to vet out programs to be clear models for how the other programs will work.”
Korst and others at the school encourage students, parents and the community to come forward with ideas. The sky’s the limit for the variety of ways this could go, Korst expressed. They are looking at everything from firefighting, to surveyors and pilots, to nurses and much more.
“It’s overwhelming, but in a good way,” said Korst. “This is by far the thing I am most excited about,” said Korst, looking back at his over 26 years of experience as an educator.
Korst suggested interested parties contact Hamilton Public Schools for more information, as their website is not finished yet. They can reach Hamilton Public Schools at (406) 363-2280.