Palmer High February
Principal's Post
February is Career and Technical Education Recognition Month
When I was in school the CTE programs were referred to vocational education. The addition of computer technology brought about the change to Career and Technical Education. A secondary student could connect a series of courses that develop into a career pathway. Every Friday we have a guest speaker streaming into classes to expose our student to a variety of career options that our local business owners have the opportunity for our students to smoothly transition into.
Many of the career pathways that are traditional to Palmer High School are Automotive, Welding, Accounting, Technical Applications, Personal Financing, Educators Rising and Culinary Arts. All of these pathways can develop a foundation that carries a high school student into a job market or better prepare them for post-secondary school and training right out of high school. This broad and diverse selection of electives to choose from provides the opportunities for the students to explore and develop a deeper interest in career options. When you consider that close to 80% of high school graduates will not finish a four-year college degree one can understand the value of CTE course options.
A unique pathway that is rooted deep into Palmer's history is our agriculture courses. Intro to Agriculture, Plant Science, Animal Science, Veterinary Science, Natural Resources, Landscape Design, and Greenhouse Concepts are all courses offered in the Palmer High agriculture department. The culmination of all of these courses can be developed through participation in our Future Farmers of America (FFA) chapter. Palmer High School has the largest FFA chapter in the state and students develop leadership skills that help to create a vision for a brighter future. Part of the FFA creed that was developed in 1930 is; in the promise of better days through better ways, even as the better things we now enjoy have come to us from the struggles of former years.
The mission statement of the Mat-Su Borough School district is, We Prepare All Students For Success. As a school leader, I monitor high school graduation rates very closely. It is the end game for all of the students. I'm proud to share that Palmer High School has celebrated the highest graduation rates in the history of the school with rates of more than 93% or higher over the last four years.
To close I want to share an amazing statistic for our school district. A student that takes a sequence of two CTE courses has a 99% graduation rate. The details of why that statistic exists are CTE courses are classes that student develop their interest in, and they are highly engaging. They offer a hands-on and experimental learning experience the creates a spark and makes school meaningful for a large population of students at Palmer High School and across the country. If your student has not explored this rich selection of course offering I encourage you to encourage them to explore the options.
Parent-Teacher Conference Schedule
For parents that can't make this time frame I encourage you to communicate with teachers through emails. As a general rule, I believe email can be an effective way to communicate with teachers because it allows for the flexibility of time in all of our busy schedules. Teachers can be emailed visiting the Palmer High Website https://www.matsuk12.us/phs and accessing the staff directory link at the top of the web page.
Synergy Parent Update
Unfortunately, you cannot enter an absence after the day has started or after the absence has occurred. If you ever have questions or concerns about a marked absence begin by calling Palmer High Schools front office at 746-8400.
Helpful tip: If your student has access to ParetnVue they also have access to excuse a prearranged absence. Make sure they have their StudentVue access and not ParentVue.