McPherson County school districts partner to launch hands-on CAPS career program
Two-year exploratory initiative will connect high school students with professional mentors and workplace training
MCPHERSON, Kan. — High school juniors and seniors in McPherson County will soon step out of traditional classrooms and into high-demand career fields through a new partnership bringing the Center for Advanced Professional Studies to local districts. Driven by the McPherson County Community Foundation, the initiative recently secured formal support from area schools, highlighted by a unanimous 7-0 vote on March 9 by the Inman USD 448 Board of Education to approve a two-year exploratory proposal. Board President Josiah Wuerffel, a nonpartisan elected official, and Superintendent Stephen Jowers helped advance the measure after administrators from the Canton-Galva, Inman and Moundridge districts toured the program's flagship Blue Valley facility last fall. The CAPS network, launched 16 years ago, has since expanded to support 140 schools nationwide.
Rather than following a traditional bell schedule, the CAPS model allows students to select specialized professional pathways such as engineering, business operations and medical training. Operating in environments that mimic real-world workplaces — including simulated hospital rooms where students wear scrubs to meet professional dress codes — the program pairs teenagers with industry mentors and former career professionals. CAPS Director Corey Mohn said giving students agency over their education and holding them to workplace standards fast-forwards their readiness for future employment. Participants often graduate with dual college credits or industry certifications, bridging the gap between classroom theory and the local workforce's economic needs.
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