Change to CTHS’s admittance process was done unfairly

We have asked a lot of our students this past year. With this letter I hope to share a story of a group of students that continue to strive for excellence and whose goal it has been to attend Career Technical High School next fall.

Disclaimer: I am a parent of an eighth grader whose dream has been to attend Tech, an AP Government and Civics teacher at Tech, and who also has taught 17 years at Teeland Middle School. So, I guess you could say I am wrapped up tight in this fight.

I understand the mission of Career Technical High School- for goodness sakes, it is in its name. However, the change to CTHS’s admittance process was done unfairly and at a time, we have asked a lot of our youth. I understand change was necessary to align it with its mission, but it was my understanding this was to be rolled out over the next couple of years. It was stated in a recent article, that efforts to change the acceptance system at CTHS has been ongoing for five years, however, this was never put out there for students to prepare for the sudden change.

I only lived beside the process of the new way of “getting into Tech”, so my plight is not firsthand. I have listened to those involved: the teachers, parents, community members, and students. My question is, why ignore the process? I teach my students that there is a process for those who wish to make change- you may call it the democratic process. I call it fair and just. Making big decisions that impact many require compromise. We see this in history with the creation of our country when those in power discriminated against others and disenfranchised them by keeping them out of the process; it has taken years to undo the consequences of that decision. We are only as good as the people who listen to the voices and then act fairly in a way that will reflect the needs of all.

I was saddened each time I was asked to write a recommendation for a student wishing to attend Tech in the fall, because I know it won’t matter. But mostly I am saddened that so many students are being cheated out of a goal- one that was in reach in a time that we have asked so much of them.

Kristi Shea,

Wasilla