Learning Skills Centers in Kansas Vocational Schools.

This paper discusses learning skills centers in Kansas connected with area vocational-technical schools and community junior colleges. These centers are designed to offer basic skills instruction in reading, composition, math, and study skills areas to students who cannot succeed in a vocational program because of deficiencies in one or all of these areas. The students who use these centers are classified as educationally disadvantaged by the fact that they cannot succeed without special help with skills traditionally classified as academic. Each of the basic skills centers is different and each strives to make its curriculum meet the needs of the vocational students and instructors it serves. There are, however, characteristics that are present in all basic skills programs. They are to accept the students for what they are, to tailor the instruction to fit the individual needs of the students, and to provide basic skills instruction relevant to help students find success in their chosen vocational fields. (TS)