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Living the Great War Weekend and Homeschool Month at the National WWI Museum and Memorial10/4/2023
Living the Great War Weekend is back on Oct. 21-22. Guests will meet soldiers, nurses and more from all sides of the Great War. The Living History Volunteer Corps and other living historians bring WWI to life in a camp setting on the grounds. It all kicks off with Reveille - a gathering at the flagpole inside the front gates – on Saturday, Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. This event is free and for all ages.
October is Homeschool Month at the National WWI Museum and Memorial. A discounted rate of $6 for all homeschool students aged 18 and under provides ticketed access to all gallery areas of the Museum and Memorial along with a free Family Guide booklet. Discount tickets are only available onsite at the Ticketing Counter. Other events in October include a Fall Film Screening of 1917 on Saturday, Oct.21 at 6:30 p.m., a KC Current Tailgate with The Modernists on Saturday, Oct. 7 and the 2023 Symposium: Milestones & Cornerstones on Friday, Oct. 27 - Saturday, Oct. 28. October National WWI Museum and Memorial events
About the National WWI Museum and Memorial The National WWI Museum and Memorial is America’s leading institution dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the Great War and its enduring impact on the global community. The Museum and Memorial holds the most comprehensive collection of World War I objects and documents in the world and is the second-oldest public museum dedicated to preserving the objects, history and experiences of the war. The Museum and Memorial takes visitors of all ages on an epic journey through a transformative period and shares deeply personal stories of courage, honor, patriotism and sacrifice. Designated by Congress as America’s official World War I Museum and Memorial and located in downtown Kansas City, Mo., the National WWI Museum and Memorial inspires thought, dialogue and learning to make the experiences of the Great War era meaningful and relevant for present and future generations. To learn more, visit theworldwar.org. by Cole Arndorfer
The Grain Valley Board of Education met on Thursday, September 21. The board began the meeting with a public hearing on the proposed tax rate for the year, led by Assistant Superintendent Dr. Nick Gooch. The board also heard Superintendent Dr. Brad Welle’s report, took action on two items of unfinished business and three items of new business, and took action on two board policies discussed in the previous month’s meeting. In his presentation, Gooch said that the total assessed valuation for the city was $567,445,737, up over $107 million from last years assessed valuation. The proposed rate for this year is 4.4882. This number is comprised of the operating levy, which is proposed to be decreased to 2.7882, and the debt service levy, which would stay the same at 1.70. After no discussion from the board and no public comments, the public hearing was closed and the meeting was called to order. For his report, Welle shared a few highlights from around the district. He talked about the Signs of Suicide program that high school and middle school students participated in on September 13. This program teaches students about the possible signs of suicide in their friends and classmates, as well as when to get help for themselves or others. This has been used by the district for 13 years. Welle also said that the district is finalizing their K-8 fall benchmark assessments, consistent with the CSIP priority on literacy. The final piece of Welle’s report was an update on construction at the high school. Welle said that walls are beginning to go up around the new gymnasium and he is excited to see it starting to take its form. Next in the meeting was unfinished business. The first item on that list was the annual CSIP priorities. There have been no changes to these since the September workshop meeting. “The priorities this year emphasize improving our early literacy skills, assessing the needs of our facilities throughout the district, implementing character education to address student behavior in each of our schools, developing a revised safety and security plan for each of our schools in our district, and provide competitive pay for all employees,” Welle said. The annual priorities were passed unanimously by the board. The last piece of unfinished business was naming the press box at the high school. Welle said that with it being the 100th season of Grain Valley football, the press box will be named after Grain Valley’s most successful head coach, Forrest Rovello. This item was also unanimously passed. Under new business, the board took action to set the tax levy rate for 2023. The board approved the tax rate and it will be set at 4.4882 for the next year. Changes from assessed valuation appeals was a concern that was brought up by the board. The state has a process set in place in order to recoup any tax dollars that may be lost due to any appeals. The second item was to add two additional full-time paraprofessionals. Welle said that the district does still have a few openings for paraprofessionals but there is still a need to add these extra positions. This item was approved and the budget will be amended in October to reflect these additions. The final item was to live broadcast school board workshops. This item was put on the agenda to set the record straight and clear any confusion by board members. Some of the board members believed that when they voted to allow live broadcasts of board meetings that it also included workshops so they wanted to take a vote on specifically the workshop events. Board Vice President, Jeff Porter, said that he thinks broadcasting the workshops is just as important, if not more important than broadcasting the monthly business meetings. He said that in order for the public to understand what the board is voting on, they must be able to see what is discussed in the workshops. This item was approved 6-1 with the lone “no” vote being from Board President Eddie Saffell. Board policy review was the last item on the agenda. The first policy on the list was on the topic of resignation of professional staff members. This policy was amended slightly to allow the board to waive the fee the staff member must pay to resign late, and the staff member may request in writing to the board to have the fee waived. This policy was approved. The last series of policies the board took action on was the 2023B series policies from the MSBA. No changes have been made to these policies from the previous workshop. These policies were approved. The next board meeting will take place on October 19, at 6 pm in the Leadership Center. Park University announces its graduates from the 2022-23 academic year. The list of graduates includes those from the University’s flagship campus in Parkville as well as its 38 additional campuses across the country and online worldwide.
The University had 2,007 students eligible to graduate — 469 students earned a master’s degree, specialist degree and/or graduate certificate, and 1,538 students received a bachelor’s degree, associate degree and/or undergraduate certificate. Grain Valley graduates (reside in Grain Valley or attended Grain Valley schools): LIST OF GRADUATE DEGREES CONFERRED (Name, Degree Concentration [if applicable], Hometown and High School Attended [if provided]) Master of Business Administration
LIST OF UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES CONFERRED (Honors designation key ([at least 30 earned credit hours prior to the last term of enrollment at Park University]):
Bachelor of Fine Arts
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
On Friday, September 15, middle schoolers at Grain Valley North Middle School learned about financial literacy with Million Bazillion Live! “Who Wants to be a Bazillionaire?” Based on the Webby-winning kids’ podcast Million Bazillion from Marketplace and presented by Greenlight, Million Bazillion Live! brings financial knowledge and empowerment to middle school students.
American Public Media’s® (APM) Marketplace®, the most widely consumed business and economic news programming in the country, partnered with Greenlight® Financial Technology, Inc. (Greenlight), the fintech company on a mission to help parents raise financially smart kids, to launch this dynamic financial literacy tour, Million Bazillion Live! “Who Wants to be a Bazillionaire?” Presented in a fun, entertaining game show format, Million Bazillion Live! is an immersive experience with personal finance trivia, challenges, and prizes. During the tour, students will cheer on their classmates while learning about real money matters such as budgeting, saving, and investing. To learn more, visit millionbazillionlive.com. Life Directions class, Faith UMC ensure no Grain Valley students go hungry on the weekends9/16/2023
Enter Faith United Methodist Church (UMC) in Grain Valley on Thursday mornings, and you'll hear a buzz of activity in a nearby classroom. Set up in assembly line fashion, the students from Grain Valley High School’s Life Directions class are packaging 188 weekend meals for students throughout the Grain Valley school district, including all four elementary schools and the early childhood center. The group is also packaging meals for the middle schools and high school in the interim while another church who supplies those schools gets their program back up and running for the school year. Faith UMC coordinates the BackSnack program, which provides a weekly pack filled with nutritious food for school age children in Grain Valley Schools. Faith UMC Pastor Mike Cassidy said the number of students served in the program has skyrocketed in recent years. When the church began coordinating the program approximately ten years ago, around 30 students were being served. This past week, volunteers packed 188 BackSnacks. The program is funded by the church, along with support from individual donors. Counselors at each of the district’s schools help identify students and families who could benefit from the program. As Cassidy explains, the BackSnacks are designed to include items that kids themselves can manage. “Everything is a pop top, and individual servings that kids can manage on their own,” Cassidy said. Denna Coulson, is the volunteer coordinator of the program at Faith UMC. As a retired teacher, she knows how critical the program is to ensuring all students come to school on Monday morning prepared to learn. Coulson has a team of volunteers who come together every Thursday to quickly pack, sort, and deliver BackSnacks to each school. The Life Directions class delivers BackSnacks to schools on the south side of town, while Faith UMC volunteers delivers to schools on the north side. “We have church volunteers, parents, teachers, and the bus driver all here helping out this morning,” Coulson said. The crew works quickly, completing 188 packs for students in less than an hour. “These kids are wonderful,” Coulson said. They are a well-oiled machine. I just stand back and stay out of their way. They’re awesome.” Life Directions teacher Araya Penfield said the partnership with Faith UMC allows her students, who are mostly 18-21 year-olds, the opportunity to give back while learning important skills. “The focus of the class is to give them job skills, independent living skills, and experience working in the community,” Penfield said. “Working on BackSnacks and delivering them to each individual school makes it easier for them to see what they are doing is making a difference.” Sam Laws is a student in the Life Directions class, and is clearly an experienced member of the team assembling packs. “It’s fun to work at, and we do a good job working together,” Laws said. Laws said it is hard work, but he is happy that he and his classmates “are doing work to help people.” Cassidy shared that it was Sam that brought one of their newest community efforts into focus. “Sam participates in a group called the Friendship Club, and they were recently in need of a new home,” Cassidy explains. Friendship Club, which was founded 25 years ago by a Blue Springs mother of a child with special needs, is a social gathering for young people with special needs. The group meets once a month on Friday nights, and Sam is an active member. While Sam is not a member of Faith UMC, when the Friendship Club had lost its meeting space and was searching for a new home, Cassidy said that Sam told them, “You can go to my church!”. The Friendship Club now meets at Faith UMC monthly. “It all started down here with BackSnacks. It’s amazing how those connections happened,” Cassidy said. Cassidy explains their experiences with the Life Directions class and Friendship Club helped inform their next project in the community: the Good People Café. The café will soon be housed in the former library space on Eagles Parkway and will be staffed by young adults with special needs. “It can be hard to get employers to not just see people for the role they need filled, but for the person you are. We are excited to offer an opportunity for people with special needs to gain job skills and participate in the workforce,” Cassidy said. Additionally, Cassidy said the new café will allow the church to do outreach to families who struggle to attend traditional worship services. “80% of families with special needs family members are not in worship, so we’re planning a special night at the café for those families. It will be designed for them. Everybody there is in the same boat so there’s less pressure and less stress.” Faith UMC supports the BackSnack program, but individual and business donors are also important to support the program as it grows. Product donations are certainly welcome (list of commonly distributed items below), but monetary donations make it easy for volunteer coordinators to efficiently supply all BackSnacks with standard items. To make a one-time or recurring donation to the BackSnack program, visit https://valleyfaith.churchcenter.com/giving/to/backpack-snacks Common BackSnack items (donations may be delivered to Faith United Methodist Church): Oatmeal packets Pop Tarts Granola bars Mac & cheese (individual microwave servings) Ramen noodles (individual servings) Soup (with pop top cans) individual peanut butter Tuna (pop top or easy open packets) Ravioli (pop top) Fruit cups Pudding cups (shelf stable) applesauce microwave popcorn Slim Jims crackers chips snack crackers/Cheez-Its Trail Mix peanut butter or cheese cracker sandwiches fruit snacks GVHS teacher Araya Penfield (center) works with her Life Directions class each Thursday at Faith UMC to pack and distribute BackSnacks for students in Grain Valley. Photo credit: Grain Valley News staff Grain Valley High School student Sam Laws is just one of a crew of volunteers from the Life Directions class who pack hundreds of Backsnacks each week for Grain Valley students. Photo credit: Grain Valley News staff
Education secretary calls digital divide ‘equity issue of our moment’ during KC visitby Annelise Hanshaw, Missouri Independent U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona made stops in Kansas and Missouri Tuesday as part of a multi-state tour, labeling internet access “the new pencil” as he discussed the government’s efforts to expand broadband connectivity. During events in Overland Park, Kansas, and Kansas City, Missouri, Cardona discussed a program that subsidizes internet access and community engagement. While speaking to superintendents and education leaders in Kansas, he declared lack of access the “equity issue of our moment.” “This president is going to put the digital divide in your rearview mirror, and not just through talk but through action,” he said. The Kansas City leg of the tour began at the central resource branch of the Johnson County Library in Overland Park, Kansas, where Cardona was joined by Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The pair crashed a meeting where teachers were learning about the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program, a benefit providing up to $30 per month for qualifying households to pay their internet bills and a one-time $100 discount to purchase a device. “In order for students to achieve at high levels, (internet access) is a necessity,” Cardona told educators. The FCC tracks internet connectivity nationwide and maps where residents have access to various speeds of broadband connections. Its latest map shows five spots in Missouri and 10 spots in Kansas where residents have no access to the internet. The spots appear to be the size of some of Missouri’s smallest towns. There are many areas throughout both Missouri and Kansas where less than 20% of residents have broadband access. Rosenworcel said the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed by Congress in 2021 should also address this issue, with money earmarked for states to use on their needs. “We’re now committed to building this infrastructure everywhere as a result of (the Bipartisan Infrastructure) law,” she told reporters after the Overland Park event. To discuss the “digital divide,” Cardona and Rosenworcel spoke to school superintendents and education leaders from corporate and nonprofit companies. The superintendents represented some of Kansas’ largest school districts, all speaking of connectivity initiatives. Michelle Hubbard, superintendent of the Shawnee Mission School District, said her school district sent a questionnaire to students, and 93% responded that they had internet access. “That is just not true outside of where we sit right now,” Hubbard said, alluding to the wealth in the surrounding community. Blue Valley School District Superintendent Tonya Merrigan said her district’s counselors and social workers are trained to ask about student’s internet connectivity because some families were too “afraid” or “embarrassed” to ask for help. Local programs are reaching out to families about the federal program, said Kansas City Digital Drive managing director Aaron Deacon. Rosenworcel hopes that communication from community partners will help form trust around the Affordable Connectivity Program to reach those who may not otherwise sign up for the federal program. “We know when people hear about it locally from teachers, from their principals, from somebody who runs an institution in their own backyard, they’re more likely to trust it and sign up,” she said to reporters. Effective communication with families was the focus of the secretary’s stop in northeast Kansas City where he chatted in a gathering at the Mattie Rhodes Center, a community center with a multicultural focus. Cardona walked off his tour bus and into the center’s parking lot for a series of photo opportunities and informal meetings. He head-butted a soccer ball with teenage musicians and ate paletas with U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver before sitting down with parents. Cleaver and Missouri’s Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven joined him at the table with parents. Cardona said the parents’ concerns ranged from their children’s safety to their desire for their kids to be challenged in the classroom. “We need to support our public schools; we need to support our parents, our educators,” he said. “Ultimately, all that goes to our students.” Talking to reporters, he referenced part of the proverb “it takes a village,” as he pointed toward the gathering of kids, parents and educators in the Mattie Rhodes parking lot. Cardona’s bus tour, named “Raise the Bar,” is titled after his desire to raise student achievement, he said. “Our students should be leading the world right now,” he said. “We rank somewhere in the 30s compared to other countries. That’s unacceptable.” The United States’ ranked 21ist in the latest (2018) Programme for International Student Assessment, a global test of student achievement. Wednesday, Cardona is scheduled to make stops in St. Louis as he continues to Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
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Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Missouri Independent maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jason Hancock for questions: info@missouriindependent.com. Follow Missouri Independent on Facebook and Twitter. Drew Melching and Brooklyn Spencer of Grain Valley, Missouri, are among Missouri’s brightest high school students who attended the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) in June at the University of Missouri. MSA began in 1985 and each summer provides more than 300 rising high school juniors the opportunity to expand their educational and social skills. The program provides enrichment opportunities to support learning and personal development for gifted Missouri students, and offers a variety of daily extracurricular activities to enhance critical thinking and communication. More than 11,000 students have completed the academy to date. “MSA was an opportunity to expand my horizons to an extent that has bever been available to me before,” Melching said. “I am grateful to have experienced MSA and the unique insights it brings.” Melching, who attends Grain Valley High School, is the son of Michael and Jennifer Melching. As a rising junior, Melching participates in tennis and pilot training. “MSA introduced me to philosophy and an incredibly diverse group of very funny and intelligent people,” Spencer said. Spencer, who attends Grain Valley High School, is the daughter of Jason and Mendi Spencer. As a rising junior, Spencer participates in tennis. As the state’s largest and oldest public, land-grant university, Mizzou has more than 30,000 students, 13,000 full-time employees and 305,000 alumni. Since 2015, the Missouri Scholars Academy has been administered by the MU Honors College. Drew Melching and Brooklyn Spencer of Grain Valley, Missouri attended the Missouri Scholars Academy (MSA) in June at the University of Missouri. Photo courtesy Grain Valley Schools
by Cole Arndorfer
The Grain Valley Schools Board of Education met on Thursday, August 17, for their brief monthly meeting. The meeting included a report on prepaying the district’s series 2019A bonds, a couple new business items, and discussion of three board policies. Under reports, the Board heard a presentation from Wesley Townsend and Brad Wegman of L.J. Hart and Company. The two presented an option to the board to prepay the district’s series 2019A bonds in order to save money in interest. Prepaying the full $3 million amount of the bonds would equal a savings of $225,000 over time. The board elected to go through with the bond prepayment and will pay the full amount on September 1. During the superintendent’s report, Dr. Brad Welle made note that the district is in need of paraprofessionals and custodians as the district is down nine paraprofessionals and eight custodial workers. If the positions go unfilled for the start of the year, paraprofessional positions will be run on a substitute basis with subs filling in to meet the state requirements. Custodians will run on a skeleton crew at night in order to make up their shortage to start and there will be a higher emphasis on daytime cleaning to not overwork that small crew. Following a question from Sarah Swartz on the outcome of the district’s inaugural Back to School Fair, Dr. Amanda Allen said the number of sign-ups was great but the number of attendees was a bit lacking. Allen said that there were over 90 kids that signed up for the fair but just half of those turned out at the event. Overall, Allen called the event a success and hopes that it will gain more traction in the future. For now, the district will hold supplies for the kids that signed up but were unable to come at their respective schools to be sure all kids get what they need. Under new business, the Board reviewed annual CSIP (Comprehensive School Improvement Plan) priorities for the upcoming school year. This was a list of five priorities for the upcoming year. The first priority was to improve early literacy instruction. Dr. Welle said that this is something the district has been trying to hit hard the last few years. Second, was to develop a comprehensive facilities audit and use it to create a long-range facilities plan for the future. The third priority was to look at redefining K-12 processes for assessing behavior. Fourth, developing school and district safety plans that highlights any needed improvements. The last priority was to evaluate local funding options and to propose a levy increase, and timeline for a vote by the district’s patrons. “The last time our levy went to a vote of the people in our community was 2004,” Welle said. “If you think about how our district and our community has changed in the last 20 years, that is a long time.” The board will take these priorities under consideration and bring them back for further discussion at the September meeting. The second item of new business was adding a new bus aide position for this school year. This is a position that was not budgeted for but was rather found to be a need due to the number of students that need a bus aide and how they fall along the bus routes. The board approved this item and is expected to come back in the coming months with an amendment to the budget reflecting this position. The last portion of the meeting was covering board policies. The first item discussed under board policies was discussed at length in the previous meeting. There were no changes to the policy referring to the acceptance of gifts by staff other than making note that, if offered a gift, Welle would have to speak with board president, Eddie Saffell, before accepting said gift rather than calling a board meeting. Dr. Welle made sure to point out that he is seldom offered gifts, receiving a chuckle from the board and audience, before saying that this policy is mostly a formality. This policy passed 7-0. The second policy the board discussed was options for professional staff members wishing to resign over the summer months. The specific section of the policy the board discussed was liquidated damages. As the policy states right now, a professional staff member wishing to resign from their contract between June 1 and July 1 is subject to board approval and payment of a $1,000 processing fee. The later a staff member wishes to resign, the higher the fee. Between July 1 and August 1, the fee jumps to $3,000 and for after August 1 the fee is currently $5,000. Welle said that he would have a hard time removing this section from the policy given the teacher shortage at the moment but would be open to any revisions the board may want to discuss. The board discussed adding a clause that would allow the board to waive the fee at their discretion or possibly taking away the tier system that is in place currently or taking it from three tiers to just two. The board will continue to discuss this item further. The final item in policies is the new MSBA Series 2023B policies. Main changes have to do with instructional practices, interventions, promotion/acceleration, retention, and assessment, as well as adding Holocaust Education Week to the ceremonies and observances calendar. Welle said the board will take time to go through these changes and discuss them the next time they meet. The next school board meeting will take place on September 23 at 6 pm at the Leadership Center. by Annelise Hanshaw, Missouri Independent Statewide teacher development programs could curb educator burnout, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s blue ribbon commission concluded in its latest set of recommendations.
The commission, which is studying teacher recruitment and retention, presented its recommendations to the State Board of Education for review last week after speaking to teachers, administrators and community leaders. “The teachers who we spoke with during our meeting in May, told us they feel undervalued and overworked and lacked adequate staffing and resources to alleviate the pressures they face,” commission chairman Mark Walker told the board. “They also expressed a desire for comprehensive support and development systems that can contribute to their job satisfaction, their professional growth and overall well being.” Many of the group’s recommendations require legislative action. Its initial proposal, which sought long-term funding for teacher pay increases among other improvements, did not make it through the legislative session even with bipartisan support in the House. Rep. Ed Lewis, R-Moberly, turned the blue ribbon commission’s first report into a large part of his legislative package during the 2023 legislative session. Lewis’s bills addressing teacher recruitment and retention were merged into one at the committee level and passed the House 145-5. The omnibus bill was poised to come up for a Senate vote in the last few weeks of the legislative session, but filibusters and GOP infighting brought the Senate to a stop. Walker said the commission believed its first round of suggestions were essential, but the group knew teachers’ work environment must also be addressed. “The first report which we presented last fall focused on immediate short-term and long-term actions DESE and the State Board of legislature could take largely related to teacher compensation,” he said. “However, we also heard during our work last year that while compensation is crucial, teachers also need support for the day to day.” In a survey of Missouri educators conducted by the commission and the Hunt Institute, 77.3% of teachers reported that “increased flexibility during school hours, including time to develop lessons, collaborate with other teachers, to receive feedback and coaching and to engage in professional learning” would help their career. The blue ribbon commission suggests DESE study teaching models that place seasoned educators with novices and create leadership opportunities, likely including a two-teachers-per-classroom setup. Board member Mary Schrag of West Plains said teachers are mentoring others in their free time already, but she believes adding a financial incentive could expand this practice. The commission suggests collaborating with the legislature to secure grant funding for districts who begin this costly instructional model. The career ladder program might provide a higher salary for teachers who take on a leadership role. The program typically pays teachers for taking on additional responsibilities, like coaching roles or sponsoring a club, so the commission suggests checking statute to see if this program would apply. Continuing with a theme of teacher advancement, the blue ribbon commission recommends the creation of a master teaching certificate that provides opportunities in schools and increased pay. Walker said the group thinks this piece is “really, really important.” Schrag sees a master teaching certificate as a way for teachers to financially advance while staying in their roles. “We have a lot of educators who really love teaching. But in order to be able to financially progress through the system, a lot of times they are being forced to go into different areas of education,” she said. The commission also included recommendations for actions administrators could take. It calls on DESE to work with the Missouri School Boards Association and the Missouri Association of School Administrators to develop training for district leaders to promote a positive school culture. The commission also wants to leverage the Missouri Leadership Development System, a training program for school administrators, to educate all the state’s principals and assistant principals. Board member Pamela Westbrooks-Hodge said she would like to see more of a focus on student behavior and mental health. Lucy Berrier Matheson, the Hunt Institute’s deputy director of K-12 initiatives, said behavior is a problem “across the country” returning to the classroom from virtual learning. “I think that is something that everyone is struggling with,” she said. If schools can add more teachers to the classroom and reduce the ratio of students to teachers, that will help with classroom management, she continued. “One of these recommendations standing alone probably doesn’t have near the effect or impact on classroom management as a multiplier of these recommendations,” Walker said. “But when you add them all together, it creates a tremendously improved environment.” Schrag said there is an upcoming meeting to discuss what legislators may be willing to sponsor. Tanner Todd's high school career didn't end when he walked the stage in May for graduation. Weeks later, he traveled to Atlanta, Georgia with four fellow students from the Career & Technology Center at Fort Osage to compete in the SkillsUSA National contest. They joined over 6,000 students from around the country. "When Tanner came to CTC, he had no clue what SkillsUSA was," Auto Tech II instructor Bill Lieb said. "Wasn't too interested," adds Auto Tech I instructor Bryan Compton with a laugh. "So for him to go from nothing to national makes it even more impressive." Tanner achieved first place in Mobile Electronics Installation. The contest includes a professional interview, a written exam, and five hands-on tests, including taking electrical measurements, installing consumer electronics equipment in a mobile environment, soldering, working with relay circuits, and troubleshooting electronic circuitry. He's kicking off his fall semester at Metropolitan Community College-Kansas City studying computer and electronics engineering, and will continue on to the University of Missouri-Kansas City to complete his undergraduate degree. "Tanner's our second student in two years to take home the national title in Mobile Electronics Installation," Lieb shares. "Last year Jake Mickelson achieved the Gold Medal, and he's also from Grain Valley. We're looking to continue the trend this year, and we have some great students poised to do more great things." CTC students Braylen Still of Blue Springs South, Carson Davis of Grain Valley, Cade Marsey of Blue Springs, and Nora McDaniel of Fort Osage also competed in crime scene investigation, automotive technology, and computer engineering, earning 5th through 19th place in their respective categories. Braylen, Carson, and Nora are continuing on to the Coast Guard, Pitt State, and UCM. Cade is returning to CTC for his senior year. "It was a tremendous year for CTC SkillsUSA," CTC Director Susie Suits says. "Five incredible students making it that far, a national champion. They are the definition of student success." Photo credit: CTC
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