CTHS admission lottery or merit?

I understand why Mat-Su Career and Technical High School students, teachers and administration want to keep applications based on merit. Merit brings in the top students to CTHS, which reduces discipline and increases test scores. Who am I to complain this system benefited me greatly when I was teaching at CTHS. I was able to build a dominant science program that attracted top valley students. These students allowed us to qualify for National Science Bowl, Ocean Science Bowl and Science Olympiad three consecutive years, which has only been done by a few teachers across the nation.

The proposal for a lottery system by the current superintendent would increase the number of students that want to take career and tech classes is just wrong! A lottery system will just bring in a wider spectrum of students, decrease test scores and graduation rates while increasing discipline issues.

The real problem is that CTHS really isn’t a career and tech school. The past principal converted CTHS into a mini–Colony High School when they added AP classes. The merit application just brought in high level students that weren’t going into the trades but got into Cal Tech, MIT and other major universities. Yes, they will say that companies like BP and Conoco Philips wanted students to take AP classes, but offering AP classes just pushed CTHS farther from being a career and tech school.

The number of career tech classes offered at CTHS is just not enough. In the beginning the district admin had a chance to make a top notch career and tech high school but instead they made many mistakes: like not housing the welding or automotive at CTHS; Discontinuing the relationship between local businesses where the businesses were in an advisory role to assist with the career classes; Issues with construction trades from not securing land, selling houses to funding new houses; Starting career classes like project lead the way Biomed then cancelling it after 2 years; Not providing funding to keep classes and train teachers; Poor advertising for the career tech classes offered at CTHS; Class scheduling and busing issues for students wanting to take classes at CTHS.

I would suggest increasing career and tech classes while keeping the merit application but modifying it so that students that want to further their education in a career and tech job or the health field be given extra points.

Tim Lundt,

Woodland Park, Colorado