PHOTO PROVIDED Career and Technical Education Director Kurt Lynch and Central Mountain High School Principal Nick Verrelli are pictured during a presentation which provided an update on the CTE Center and other opportunities students are provided to further their education.

MILL HALL — Through its Career and Technical Education school and dual enrollment programs, students have saved over $2 million while they advanced their post-secondary education — all before graduating high school.

Kurt Lynch, director of the district’s Career and Technical Education Center, and Nick Verrelli, principal at Central Mountain High School, provided the Keystone Central School District Board of Directors an update on both the center and other programs it’s offered students in the district.

“Tonight we wanted to share some slides and data to talk about some of the great things our kids have been doing and some of the wonderful opportunities they had — not only to help with what they’re doing in their careers — but also saving money in the pockets of parents,” Verrelli said.

Lynch spoke first, providing a rundown of the CTE program and its benefits for both the center but also the academic side of things at CMHS.

“If we have four CTE programs with Penn College enrollment, we can have four academic courses,” he said.

On the academic side, Lynch said the district offers courses for English, web design, chemistry and math.

On the CTE side, they offer courses for health auxiliary, two machining courses, four drafting courses and two construction trades courses.

In the 2023-2024 school year, 196 students were enrolled in one or more of these courses with 909 credits earned towards a post-secondary education, Lynch said.

With a reduced rate for tuition per course, students saved $552,672.

“This is a per cost that is written into a Perkins Grant. It’s $2,500 a year to cover the cost and the district has to cover any tech that are involves or any kind of software that’s involved,” Lynch explained. “You can see your savings across the board and how it’s gone up and down and how many kids take the courses.”

Lynch said after speaking with Assistant Superintendent Dr. Randy Zangara — who previously was employed at Penn College — confirmed that KCSD always holds a high amount of credits through PCT.

“That’s a good savings to our families,” he said.

Lynch touched on the Diversified Occupations and Co-Op programs the district offers students.

He explained a co-op involves a student that is already involved in a career and technical field that goes out to work at a local business.

“The Diversified Occupations is a student that maybe didn’t get into the career and tech field. Or we didn’t have something they wanted,” Lynch said.

During their senior year, Lynch said students who qualify are able to opt into one these options.

“Students from Bucktail or Central Mountain go through my office and they go through Mrs. (Daci) Killinger and she places them with a work partner,” he continued.

Both Lynch and Verrelli noted that prior to Lynch’s work with the district — which begin in 2020 — KCSD only had two partners. That number is now up to 110.

With the middle of the year coming up, Lynch said many students have maxed out their credit requirements and are able to take on co-op and DO work.

“Usually when they hit their credit requirements they’re freed up and away they go,” he said.

Lynch noted these students still have requirements to meet — such as attending a class every two weeks; taking a test at the end of the year similar to the students in CTE; and even participating in mock interviews with real community leaders that Killinger brings.

“There is a curriculum she has to follow,” he said.

Lynch noted if you were to come to his office during the second instructional block, youd find multiple students who are signing out to leave for a program.

“They’re taking their academic credits and they’re going to work. It’s a night thing to see, a nice transition,” he said.

Verrelli stressed how important the CTE programs are to allow this system to work.

“If you didn’t have that CTE program, you’d be sending your kids out in the morning or sending them out in the afternoon,” he said. “Now you have a kid possibly going to block one, taking an AP Calculus course, and then block three going and doing drafting and design.”

He noted this structure isn’t common across Pennsylvania.

Verrelli commended Lynch, Killinger and the CTE students for the work they’ve put into increasing community partnerships as well.

“We have over 100 community partnerships right now. That means Daci, Kurt have work to send kids out with partners in our community for DO, for Co-op, for internships. All of those opportunities,” he said. “Right now our big push is professionalism with our kids. Getting them ready for what they need to do after high school.”

In terms of partnerships, Verrelli spoke about the dual enrollment programs made possible through partnerships with Commonwealth University-Lock Haven and Lackawanna College.

At CU-LH, Verrelli said the partnership has “grown immensely” since it began in 2021. The program offers students a reduced rate per credit, costing about a fifth to a quarter of what it normally would.

The program has grown since, Verrelli said, with 108 students enrolled in the 2020-2021 school year to 248 students in the 2023-2024 school year. The cost savings last year for students and their families was $250,480.

“That’s impressive in two different ways… in the fact that we have kids that are leaving here as seniors with close to, and sometimes more, than 30 credits. That’s an entire year of college,” he said. “That is an unbelievable cost savings to their families.”

The program with Lackawanna has also been beneficial, he said.

Another cost savings, Verrelli said, is having teachers within the CTE program able to instruct students for some of the PCT classes provided.

“That saves our kids money because there is no cost to them when they take a Penn College class here at Central Mountain,” he said.

Verrelli and Lynch provided the following numbers gathered over the last four years of the various programs offered:

— 560 students participated in Penn College courses.

— 689 students participated in dual enrollment between CU-Lock Haven and Lackawanna

— Students earned 4,633 credits

— Through these reduced rates, students saved $2,226,501

“That is phenomenal. Especially in an area where not everybody can afford to do that,” Verrelli said.

He added that the district also has a variety of scholarships for students who plan to attend Commonwealth University-Lock Haven or others.

“We want to make sure all of our students have those opportunities and it’s equal across the board,” he said. He applauded the community and those who have donated funding to the scholarships.

The various opportunities provided through these unique programs, Verrelli said, help create great employees and people out of the students at KCSD.

“I want to thank Kurt, the CTE, but more importantly I want to thank our partnerships within the community that have given us the ability to be able to provide this for our kids,” he said. “I don’t see any reason why that 110 won’t continue to grow. I don’t see any reason why in the next four years you don’t see these numbers continue to increase through PCN and dual enrollment.”