The South Dakota Association of Career and Technical Education announced last month that Jolene Konechne, Director of ESL, CTE, Federal Programs and Accreditation at the Huron School District, has been awarded the 2023 South Dakota Association of Career and Technical Education Administrator of the Year and 2023 SD Association Teachers of Family and Consumer Sciences Administrator of the year.
“This award is not just a testament to my efforts but a reflection of the hard work and dedication of the entire team behind our Career and Technical Education programs. I want to extend my sincerest gratitude to all the teachers who inspire and challenge our students daily, guiding them towards their fullest potential,” Konechne, a member of the 1998 calss of Wessington Springs High School (WSHS) graduates, said. “The staff I am able to work with knows what they’re doing. They have years of experience both in industry and education. Teachers come from industry and push me to find better opportunities for our students and what we can do to be on the cutting edge of things.”
She has implemented high quality CTE programs to ensure student and teacher success by restructuring the CTE Advisory Board to include all programs communicating with industry partners, which has led to industry tours, job shadows, internships, and financial support from those partners. She has also been instrumental in laying a strong foundation in business and community partnerships, including the creation of a Business and Career Fair for high school students as well as community members.
“One of the biggest community connections I’ve been able to do in the last year and a half is our advisory board — connecting our industry with our staff and students. We have about 40-50 people attend our advisory board meetings twice a year. It has been impactful and driven a lot of connections with industry,” she explaines. “The board works with economic development at great lengths to discover what the needs of our community are and then we look at what we are offering our students. We added two classes: a CNA class and an EMS class. This year we have 26 in the CNA class and it’s only in its second year, it has grown exponentially.”
In 1998, Konechne graduated from WSHS and went to SDSUto study premed and athletic training. She decided didn’t want to be on call and pursued an early childhood degree at SDSU, then went to Northern and earned an elementary teaching degree. She tarted teaching elementary school in Mitchell, then moved to the middle School level, deciding to pursue her administration degree after moving to Elk Point. Eight years ago after a move to Huron, Konechne eventually was hired as Assistant High School Principal and Director of CTE at Huron High School.
“Mrs. Mohling probably laughed at me when I got that award,” joked Konechne. “I grew up north of Springs on a farm and was all about FFA and everything Shryock had to offer at WSHS.”
When asked about receiving the award, she said that she “ felt beyond humbled -- and that’s an understatement.
“Student success is the driving factor. Every day I think, what can we do to provide students with every opportunity and explore every option, get them the experience to help them reach their highest success,” she shared. “We have very lofty goals in the next five years. We want to add more programs and add on to our existing CTE center and open these classes to rural community schools.”
Konechne now qualifies to compete for the ACTE Administrator of the Year for Region V comprised of 16 states.
The Region V Conference will be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 9-12, 2024.