Summit School District has seen an increase over the past eight years in the number of students enrolling in extra curricular courses and career readiness programs, according to a recent report by district officials. 

During a May 30 board of education meeting, officials presented data showing a steady rise in high school student involvement in concurrent enrollment classes and technical education courses — all of which have become centerpieces of the district’s focus on postsecondary readiness.

“In Summit School District, socioeconomic status and demographic background of a student or family should not determine a student’s postsecondary goals and opportunities,” said Chief Transformation Officer Laura Cotsapas, explaining the district’s goals for economic student success. 

The various courses and programs, such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and other concurrent enrollment classes are folded into what the district calls its educational pathways — which are meant to prepare students for a range of fields after high school. Those include health sciences; business, marketing and entrepreneurship; computer science; manufacturing and engineering; trades and natural resources and outdoor leadership.  

According to Postsecondary Readiness Director Bill Gilmore, between spring 2023 and 2024, the number of students graduating high school with an International Baccalaureate Diploma rose from 16 to 24, while the number of students graduating with a seal of biliteracy increased from 36 to 46.

In general, the number of students enrolled in concurrent enrollment classes — ones where they can earn college credit — has increased from 115 in 2015 to 447 in 2023 after a slight dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Gilmore. 

Participation is virtually equal across genders, but white students continue to outpace Hispanic students. As of 2023, 70% of students who took part in concurrent enrollment classes were white while 22% were Hispanic, data shows. 

“One of the things I think we can really do is tailor our course offerings in a way that makes it more accessible to our Hispanic community and more meaningful, and that’s something that we’re working on with our partners at (Colorado Mountain College),” Gilmore said. 

With roughly 40% of the district’s student body identifying as Hispanic, Gilmore said, “We really want to see these percentages mirror our student demographic percentages,” adding, “We’re not there yet, but I feel good about the way we’re going.”

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When it comes to career and technical education classes, which can range from learning how to build skis to constructing a tiny home, current student enrollment stands at 657 up from 606 in 2015, data shows. 

For these courses, Hispanic student participation is more aligned with districtwide demographics, with 37% of all classes being taken by Hispanic students in 2013. Male and female student involvement, however, does differ from concurrent enrollment, with 63% of male students and 37% of female students taking career and technical education classes.

District leaders questioned officials about ways to make classes more accessible to students.

Board of education member Gayle Jones Westerberg asked if the district provides any financial support for International Baccalaureate test fees, for example, which she said can be a “formidable” barrier for students. 

Cotsapas said the district does waive fees for some students but added, “We don’t necessarily advertise that very well. That’s something that we’re looking at and should be coming back to the board sometime soon to talk about.”

Board member Vanessa Agee asked how important it is for the district to develop more classroom space specifically for career-readiness courses — a core consideration for funding under the district’s bond proposal that it is currently finalizing ahead of the November election. 

“It’s very important to have learning environments that are specifically designed, co-designed with higher (education) and industry partners to ensure students are having learning experiences that are relevant and meaningful,” Gilmore said. “That’s not to say that our current learning environments don’t meet that, but there’s always room for improvement.”

Board member Julie Shapiro noted that while having data on high schoolers is critical, the district should also pursue more analysis of indicators of postsecondary readiness at all age levels as far back as preschool. 

“The high school part is so important,” Shapiro said, “but I don’t want us to lose the relevance of those early years.”

As the district looks to build off opportunities and engage more students in career-readiness, Superintendent Tony Byrd added that the education must be grounded in lifelong skills rather than just a school-to-work pipeline. 

“The idea that we’re just about providing labor for local business, I think it’s much bigger than that,” he said.