Leading to Succeed April 2026

Episode 4: Leading to Succeed

Superintendent Moody interviews Grant County High School Associate Principal, Jenny Compton. Jenny is over the Career and Technical Center at GCHS. Mrs. Compton shares information about pathways, opportunities, and student experiences from the Career and Technical Center.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:31

Hello, and welcome to Leading to Succeed, a Grant County Schools podcast. We are very fortunate to have with us today Miss Jenny Compton as our guest. Ms. Compton is the associate principal of Grant County High School, which means that she is in charge of our career and tech center. Some would call it a hidden gem. We are working hard to make it a well-known gym. So I appreciate Ms. Compton being with us today. So as we start, I always like to ask our guests, tell us a little bit about yourself and your professional journey and how you ended up where you are today.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Right. Well, um I grew up in northern Kentucky, went to Scott High School, graduated, and went to K University of Kentucky to be a special ed teacher. Um I was a special ed teacher for twelve years um and then decided I was ready for a change um and wanted to be an administrator. So I came to Grant County last year as an assistant principal at the high school. And then the job opened for the CTE associate principal and I said, What the heck, let's try that? And here I am.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

So tell me about what have been some surprises for you having been a special ed teacher and an assistant principal. Uh did you have any knowledge of career and technical education or or did you just kind of immerse yourself in it? What have been some of the challenges and surprises in that role?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Yeah, so um I had limited experience as far as what's offered at a high school for career in tech. Uh from the other district I worked in, we partnered with Gateway. Um so kids did have some opportunity, but it was very limited. You know, there was only four seat spaces for automotive for a junior and four seat spaces for automotive for a senior. So, you know, when you're competing for for that small a number of seats, it it definitely made it challenging, you know, as a case manager to get my kids into those pathways. Um so when I came here and got to see all the things that we offer to all of our students, um that that was eye-opening. And um, you know, it it's a great thing that we have that most people um and most districts don't have access to.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Absolutely. I think I shared with the seniors the other day when I came over to share a message with them. You know, I'm familiar with schools in South Carolina, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, of course, and have taught in several districts. And I told them, as far as I'm concerned, we're one of one in our ability to offer these rich programs and pathways that we do under the same roof. So our kids don't even have to go outside in the rain or experience the weather to be able to have a really first class education in these career and technical pathways. So I I think it's uh easy for them to take for granted the opportunities that they have. But I know my time in Kenton County, Clark County, and uh some other districts that kids would have loved and jumped at the take chance to have that type of opportunity. So speaking of that, uh can you talk to me a little bit about the mission of the career and tech side of the building?

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yeah, so um not just the career and tech side, but even the high school as a whole. You know, our our goal is transition readiness and we want all of our kids to leave our building with a plan. They need to know what they are gonna do when they leave after four years, and whether that be go to college for a degree, whether it be to get an associate's degree at a you know, a community college or go to a trade school. Um, you know, the CT center does offer different um industrial uh certifications that kids can just enter the workforce with those um at their, you know, at their hands. And I think it's just important that after they leave they know what they're gonna do and we offer a lot of things for them to find what they want to do.

SPEAKER_00 4:27

You're singing my song now. I remember early on in my career when I was in Clark County talking to the high school principal at that time, his name was John Atkins, and we were talking about uh students and graduation and what their plans were after school, and he remarked to me, even at that time in all his years in education, and he was at the end of his career, he how sad he was when he would talk to a senior and he would always ask the question, What are you going to do after high school? And he was just alarmed at the number of kids that would say, I don't know, I don't have a plan. And I found that to be true, regardless of what geographic location I was in, the number one biggest obstacle in my mind for graduating students and students in high school in general, is to have a real sense of identity, passion, and purpose with respect to what's next. So the the purpose of graduating high school is more than just graduating high school, in my belief. And so if we can direct them, help them find their curiosity and help them uh with exposure to the things that they're most curious about, I think the chances for them not incurring unnecessary debt and not uh drifting and and kind of having to figure that those things out, it can really set them up for a tremendous advantage uh as they enter into the next phase of their life. And I like the way that you phrase it. It can be a variet it can look a variety of ways. Um but we just want them to feel equipped, feel empowered, and have that plan uh kind of down on paper so that they can just execute at that point and not have to come up with a plan and then figure out how to execute at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 6:11

Absolutely. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 6:12

So career in tech education uh I believe has gained a lot of momentum, not just in Kentucky, but nationally as of late. Can you talk to us a little bit as to why that might be happening?

SPEAKER_01 6:24

I would say, you know, at least from my experience when I was in high school, there was a push for um they called it V school at the time, vocational ed, right? Um, and we had kids that would spend half their day there. Um and then it once I graduated in 2008, it seemed to fizzle. Um, I think the push was STEM, go to college, everybody needed to go to college. And now we have entered this time where you can't find a mechanic, you can't find uh um an electrician, you can't find HVAC because you know, we pushed college for so long. Uh that was the focus that you know, that um college readiness and being prepared. Um and you know, we're those people in those trades are they're an older generation now, and we need the younger generation to fill their footsteps and go into that. And I mean, some of our kids, you know, they leave us and they are making probably double, triple what I make, you know, with a college degree and two master's degrees. They are, you know, paving their way by working with their hands, doing a trade that they learned in high school. Um, so I'm I'm glad to see that it it's coming back around because it's so valuable.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Well, and I want to t you touched on something there too. Forever the emphasis was college, and if you weren't college material is what people would say, then perhaps you were vocational school material. And I think a stigma got associated with that. Um but I know uh just from having uh purchased a car recently, the amount of uh both hands-on skill that you need, but you need quite a bit of technical acumen as well. So I think that we're entering into a phase where students are gonna have to be proficient in English and math and science and and history and all the things, and have hands-on skills as well. So th I think uh a big reason that the older generation is looking to get out of the trades is because of the technical demand that comes along with it. So there's a lot of interface with uh electronics and computers, and I think it's silly if any of us think that we're gonna escape AI in any sector of the workforce. And so to be able to use that appropriately and efficiently is gonna matter. So that brings me back to what's unique about our high school. It's not an either-or proposition. Uh so it's it's all under one roof, and we're all working for the whole child and trying to give them all the skills that we can so that they can be most adaptable into a workforce. So appreciate you touching on that. Uh talk to us about uh some of the more popular pathways at the high school, uh, just that you see our students leaning towards right now as high areas of interest.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

Yeah. So I would say right now our uh biomed and health science pathways are they're booming. Um kids are are really wanting those pathways. So biomed is can be anywhere from forensics to a doctor, anything um like that, and our health science is is anything within healthcare. Um one of our big classes we're really excited to launch next year is our EKG Tech program. Um so our students um we're getting a simulator where they're gonna be able to learn how to um you know administer an EKG on patients. So once they take that test and become industry certified, they would be able to go into that field pretty much right away. Um and that one we're we're really excited to be able to get that equipment and get that one um jump started. I think uh, you know, that healthcare is just a it's booming, and we live in an area where St. Elizabeth is just a high demand place to work. Um and also our our welding program is is got a lot of interest. Um, can't forget about agriculture. Um, you know, our agriculture program is very popular in Grant County. They they do a lot for our school, a lot for our community. Um, and those kids build a lot of really necessary social and life skills within those programs. Um, culinary has seen a really big um intake in kids and interest, um, which is really exciting to watch that pathway that has kind of struggled over the last few years gain some momentum.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

I appreciate that. I think I'm correct in saying you're taking a look at possibly uh setting up a survey to kind of gauge interest from kids. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_01 11:21

Yeah, so um towards the end of the school year, we want to give a survey to current uh middle school and high school students just to gain interest on one, what is their current pathway, you know, their interests in the pathways that we do currently offer, as well as some insight in if we were to grow, if we were to make changes, you know, what are some of the things that kids are interested in? You know, what do you want to see at Grant County High School? Um because the possibilities are endless. Um you know, and we want to grow. The the whole purpose is not to just do status quo and maintain we want we want to go bigger and better and see what our kids want.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

So that's that's so interesting. I just uh completed a defensive learning interview uh for an eighth grade student over at the middle school, and he was really excited because he already knew that he wanted to do an automotive pathway and a welding pathway. And I believe you all have just adjusted the schedule to make that possible because it makes so much sense for those two pathways uh that there's gonna be some bleed over and some commonality. And part of the feedback that we gave that young man was is I love the fact that he knows what he's curious about and what he's interested in. Absolutely. But who knows where that journey is gonna take him. And so the more skills that he can acquire uh throughout his schooling, the more doors that will be open to him and the more opportunities that we have. So one of the things that I'm very big on, and I think our CTE is a prime example of, is the value add component. I go back to the EKG uh class that you're talking about for next year. That may uh s certainly a student could enter into the workforce at that level, but that may not be where they end. Right. They just have a leg up, a value add. They have uh an advantage in the workforce from being able to graduate our high school with a certificate that enables them uh to be competitive in the the workforce. So that's a great thing.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

Um how do choose how speaking of pathways, how do students find or choose their pathways? What's that mechanism look like?

SPEAKER_01 13:32

Well, I think um we do a really good job with our eighth graders at bringing them to the high school and showing off our building and showing off um our CTE center. The kids get about five to ten minutes in the classrooms to kind of s go in, take tours, see what's there. Um, and I I think that's really big for them to see it in the moment. Um, because you know, we can talk about the automotive class, we can talk about the welding class, but until you walk in there and see that, you know, you you don't really have a good idea of what it might look like. But I think that's big. Um our kids getting to do that as eighth graders. Um, I do hope that moving forward we're we're doing more things in the community that our CTE classes are going into the middle school and kind of building that bridge um so kids get more um exposure to it at a younger age. So by time they're in eighth grade, they already kind of know what to expect um and what they you know what they want to do, what they want to try out.

SPEAKER_00 14:38

I'm happy uh to be able to say on this podcast that the Grant County Education Foundation just recently agreed to fully fund a Paxton Patterson uh exploration lab at the Grant County Middle School. So the good news for you is that students will have exposure to these pathways as middle schoolers, be able to do some hands-on modules that will allow them to explore everything over the course of their three years at the middle school. So they'll come to the high school with a little better informed, and when they see those spaces and the and the projects and the products that those classes are producing, they'll have some ideas. So I I think that we can only go forward with that. Absolutely. And I think that's gonna be great for our students, and of course, I appreciate the Education Foundation for making that contribution because it's gonna impact our future and it's gonna impact lives in a it's in a powerful and meaningful way, and that's what we're all about. Do you have and I know that you're new to the role, uh, but you've been in Grant County a couple of years, and I'm sure you've heard some stories. Do you have any examples of how CTE particularly benefited a student from Grant County High School and perhaps a graduate or somebody that's getting ready to graduate?

SPEAKER_01 15:51

Um, I would say uh, you know, so many things. Yeah, I you know, work with these kids all day and and get to see the amazing things they're doing. But um we have uh three students that go to Gateway, they started last semester in the linemen program, which is um, you know, that that's a big field. It's a booming field, it's very lucrative. Um so to have three seniors spend their day on Gateway's cla campus climbing the poles, learning the truck, um for them, that it that is huge. And um, you know, we have three students involved this year, but next year, hopefully more are gonna take advantage of that opportunity. Um I I mean that that's one of them. We have um a uh special ed student that I met last year that um struggled and this year and I truly believe it's because of the relationship she has with Amy Bolton in that biomed pathway. Uh she's gonna be a completer in that pathway. She was able to meet benchmark on both reading and math coyote, doing it on her own and just seeing her be empowered. And it uh truly I do believe is you know the staff members that she has worked alongside of um and pushing her and despite having a learning disability, you can do big things. Yeah. And so for me that's you know, obviously the special web parts uh near and dear to my heart, but um witnessing that is is awesome.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

That's a great example, and I love the fact that you bring up a point as you know, some people's mentality might be that our are we're very restrictive at the high school when in fact we encourage students to uh explore those pathways, get involved, and it doesn't matter um for us w what you how you are labeled, you just need to be interested and willing to do the work, and as you say, great things can happen. So I think that's a that's a very powerful example of uh impacting a student's life. Thank you for sharing that. Um I believe that uh you have some student organizations that can that compete and do uh community engagement. Can you talk to us a little bit about what that looks like?

SPEAKER_01 18:14

Yeah, so each pathway has a uh student organization attached to it. Um some of them have the same one, so Skills USA is kind of a bigger one and it encompasses welding, electrical, automotive, um, some engineering, some computer science, culinary, so they they can all participate in Skills USA. Um good news there we had eight students qualify for nationals. Right. Uh we just found that out um a couple days ago, so that that's super exciting for those kids to move on and compete at the next level. Um our FACS classes in culinary um are linked with FCCLA. We have a student that just found out she is gonna move on to nationals with culinary. Um we are super excited for her. It's her first experience competing and to be able to then move on to that next level is is just it's just amazing to get get to be a part of that. Um FFA, I think everybody in Grant County, I hope, knows about our ag program and FFA. Um Miss Butler and Mr. Messer do a great job doing all things in the community. Um their more recent things that they uh participated in is they did a food drive for the um the road workers when we had the big snow that actually caught on um and other districts did their own, which I thought was amazing because that was a a very time of in need for for that part of the workforce. Um you know, to see the appreciation from from the students and the staff to, you know, hey, we know you're out there trying to get us back in school. Here's you know, here's some some food and some fuel to get you get you there. Um yeah, those are those are definitely our big ones. HOSA. Uh we're super excited about HOSA. So they started a middle school chapter this year. They're with the health science and biomed pathways. So Miss Bolton and Miss Bergen um go to the middle school. Um and they uh have students that made it to internationals, uh, which will be held in June. So that's really exciting for for those few students that get to compete at that next level just in their middle schoolers. So um, you know, we're continuing to build that bridge, you know, from the high school school.

SPEAKER_00 20:39

I think that's that's huge. Not only HOSA, but I know the ROT the junior ROTC program uh has been down to the middle school, and I just uh another student that I had in an interview for Defensive Learning talked about her plan was to be in the ROT junior ROTC program at the high school. And that's because of the exposure that uh we've provided them.

SPEAKER_01 20:59

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 21:00

So that makes me think of when Commissioner Fletcher uh visited the district back in August. Uh of course uh he had a personal connection to CTE. He had a son that was a welder, and he talked about how important that was to his son. But he also talked about it's really important for us to help students dream. So he talked about coming from a family that was the basically the face of poverty and overcoming that, and now he's the commissioner, former superintendent uh in the state of Kentucky. But he talked about how important it was for students not only to dream, but to to n to b develop that uh process of dreaming. So to set a goal, work hard for it, persist, uh overcome all those things. And what you just described to me sounds like the perfect recipe to address that. And I love the fact that our students saw a need in the community, figured out a way to meet that need, and it was so powerful that other communities picked up that work and localized. It for themselves. So I can't think of a better experience for our kids than to be able to be part of meaningful change that other students or in other communities are replicating. So that's that's great news and uh I appreciate that. What kind of mindset helps students succeed in these programs? I would imagine that there are some struggles and some challenges. And so it's not just easy because uh I do want to point out these students are actually doing the work. Yeah, it's not just simulation, they're doing the work. No, it turns on its physical. Yeah, the other thing I want to point out too is in most of our uh cases, the professionals, we are we have teachers who had uh made their living in these pathways as a professional. So I think that's a uh an advantage too. Talk about that to us a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Yeah, so um I would say uh, you know, sometimes, especially um I know biomed, that first entry level class, um, you know, some kids struggle with. And I I happened to walk into um the tenth grade counselor's office one day and she was meeting with a student and the student was trying to get out of uh you know that that entry level pathway course. And um, you know, I was just like, well, why? And she's like, it's it's so hard. I just I can't do it. And I said, I have a feeling you can. And I think give it another week. Give it another week, see what you think, um, build that, you know, relationship with Miss Bolton, and then and then come talk to me. If you still want to, if you if it's a no, you know, I'll I'll consider it, but but give it another chance. And uh haven't heard from that student. In fact, I got to see her outside the other day, uh, drawing with chalk the um pattern of blood flow on the sidewalk outside my office. And um, you know, to see the smile on her face and to see her do something that, you know, in January she probably thought wasn't even in her realm of abilities to just see her out there doing the thing. Um, it you know, that's that's what it's all about.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

That is. What advice would you give to a middle schooler who's excited about a pathway? Do they need to worry about keep their uh other side of their grades up or attendance matters? Any advice you would give them about those things?

SPEAKER_01 24:31

Yeah, I would definitely say uh, you know, their grades that freshman and sophomore year really matter. Um if you're not able to earn those credits, there is no way we can put you into the CTE courses that you would need to create those pro to complete the program. Um so, you know, freshman year they they get I think three, possibly four spots in their schedule where they can take an intro course, you know, where they get their their feet wet, see what they like, um, which is which is the nice part about our CT programs is you know, you can try multiple things, um, but you have you have to pass your the rest of your classes. You don't get to partake in the fun side of the building if you don't, you know, take care of business on on our academic wing.

SPEAKER_00 25:19

And just to be clear, um that's just kind of a a restriction by consequence kind of phenomenon. Uh I remember when I was high school principal talking to those freshmen how important that first and second semester were because you build a deficit that becomes nearly impossible, it accrues over time. So if and we have a lot of safety nets in place at the high school for students that are struggling to be able to uh do some tier two intervention to be able to have multiple chances at proficiency and mastery. So if a student can take advantage of the time that's afforded them in school, I think that they can be successful. And as you say, explore the other side of the building and and find uh those hands-on activities that really interest to them. Um we'll kind of start to wrap it up here. What would you say is the most rewarding part of your job?

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Just seeing the kids succeed and and their excitement at see at succeeding, um and seeing the advisors and the teachers' excitement at that, you know. Um we we do a lot of testing, right? Whether it's industry certs or EOPs or uh Coyote and and just seeing the excitement when when they are successful. Um and kind of not even necessarily beating the odds, but um, you know, it's always a great day when when they they realize that they've got it.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

Well, I agree with that. And I'll say too that I always enjoyed standing in that hallway that connects the one side of the building to the other, and there is no profile of a kid that goes to CTE during the day. So you have athletes, you have musicians, you have kids interested in drama, you have kids that are uh interested in automotive, but they're they represent our entire community. So it's not as if oh well that's a CTE kit. No, all of our kids have the potential and have representation in our CTE programs, and I think that's something that's really unique and special too. If you could leave listeners with one message about CTE, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 27:35

That it is so important. It is important that our kids take advantage of what they have because if they go to another district, they're not gonna get that. Um so I would say to have an open mind, try things out, um, and just because something's hard doesn't mean you're not able to do it.

SPEAKER_00 27:55

Very good. And I'm gonna start a new thing at the end of the podcast. We had a little discussion about this before the the recording started. What's uh something people might be surprised to learn about you?

SPEAKER_01 28:07

Alrighty. Um so I am naturally uh a control freak. Okay. I like to be in control of all situations. I hate surprises.

SPEAKER_00 28:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:18

However, um I typically like to see how far I can go in an empty gas tank and see if I can make it to the gas station.

SPEAKER_00 28:29

All right, so any automotive students out there know that uh Miss Compton may be calling on you for a rescue at some point if she pushes the level too far. Well, Miss Compton, thank you for being our guest today, and thank you for talking to us about the Career in Tech Center. I encourage anyone, if you have an opportunity, to visit that space. I think it's one of the most beautiful campuses I've seen. I think we have a beautiful high school. It's set in a beautiful location, and the Career in Tech Center is no uh less stunning than anything else, and in fact, it's something we can all be proud of because it's part of our community. Well, thank you for joining us on another episode of Leading to Succeed, a Grant County Schools podcast. And until next time, we wish you uh all the best. Thank you.