At its most recent meeting, Monday, June 8, the Maple Lake School Board approved purchasing up to two Practical Assessment Exploration System (PAES) lab units, provided reimbursement is approved by the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE).
The board heard last month from special education teachers about the advantages of beginning Maple Lake’s own lab at the high school. Maple Lake’s special-education students currently have access to a PAES lab at the Wright Tech Center in Buffalo, which helps to facilitate and explore different job opportunities, options and skills by providing a simulated work environment. A complete PAES package consists of five components, and the teachers have proposed to begin with two units – consumer/service and construction/industrial – with a plan to eventually add on to the program.
The cost will be about $14,500, with about $6,800 to be covered by aid from the state if the purchase is approved by MDE in advance of purchasing the materials. Currently, the cost to send one student to the Wright County Tech Center is $5,630 per year. As current staff members are trained in the program, no new hires are necessary for its implementation. And while Wright County Tech Center accommodates only juniors and seniors, a Maple Lake-based lab can also serve ninth- and tenth-graders.
At the May meeting, Board Chair Arnie Michalicek had expressed reservations over competing with the Wright County Tech Center Cooperative, of which the Maple Lake School District is a member. However, over the following weeks, High School Principal Dave Hansen and a few of the district’s special education teachers met with Meeker and Wright Special Education Cooperative (MAWSECO) administration to discuss options. District Superintendent Mark Redemske also spoke with Ray Przekurat at the Wright County Tech Center and contacted staff from the Crosby-Ironton School District, which recently started a PAES lab in its high school, to gain insight on any advantages of starting a lab in Maple Lake. If the district has its own lab, Redemske maintained, it can be used by students of varying ages, more of Maple Lake’s students will have access to it, travel time will be eliminated and there will be greater flexibility in scheduling students into the labs.
More information appears in this week's Messenger.
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