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Butler Tech plan calls for collaboration

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By Lindsey Hilty, Staff Writer 12:47 PM Monday, November 23, 2009

Without the support of Butler Tech’s 10 associate schools, its new strategic plan to collaborate and share resources won’t work, officials said.

But board members of the Butler Technology and Career Development Schools said they are ready to win their own school boards to the cause.

“It may threaten some territories, some turf ... Our sense was we have to start knocking some of those silos down,” Fairfield City School’s board member Mark Morris said. “It really is a two-way commitment. If we don’t buy in, their strategic plan won’t work.”

Examples of collaboration will be planning for new state mandated flexible credits and finding ways to ensure all area students get the soft skills needed for employment.

“Butler tech just isn’t the old fashioned career technical school,” Morris said. “What’s become increasingly apparent over the years is there’s a skill set all students need to be successful.”

According to a report based on focus groups with consultant Jim Lay, area school leaders sometimes see Butler Tech as a threat rather than a resource. While those interviewed said they recognized the district’s passion and high performance culture, and relevant programs, they expressed concerns about a poor relationship with partner schools.

Many said in a free market education system, they felt Butler Tech competed for students and resources.

They said they have respect for the district’s capabilities and how it is run like a business, but the access to resources is unequal, especially in areas of technology. Also, they said Butler Tech traditionally has been asked to meet the needs of at risk students who needed to learn to “work with their hands,” but lately it has moved away from that group to serve a new population of college-bound students.

To move forward, they said Butler Tech must communicate better with districts, rather than making decisions independent from associate schools. They said the perception is that Butler Tech can make decisions that impact area districts without attempting to collaborate.

Chief Executive Officer Bob Sommers said the district has always sought feedback from stakeholders, but often there are competing demands from businesses, community and associate schools. Communicating with all decision makers is a challenge, but he said they are “constantly changing to address these issues.”

Sommers said Butler Tech has been working to bring all stakeholders together to address their diverse needs.

“The strategic plan specifically calls for this business-education collaboration in determining the educational needs of the community’s learners,” he said. “We are also working to be sure all associate school administrators and staff are fully engaged in the decision making process. We have historically involved districts on an individual basis as we doubled the number of programs we offer, but we hope to make the engagement more holistic in the future.”

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