INNOVATING PROFESSION-BASED LEARNING IN IOWA
"In this class, you are not teaching students you are training professionals!" Cedar Valley CAPS Associate
Regional High School Affiliates
"Our young adults are SO blessed to have all of the support from the Cedar Valley CAPS partnership to challenge the student-associates to be the best versions of themselves." - Taylor Anderson, Principal Denver High School
Wapsie Valley High School
Haley Tiedt
Miller Building & Van Daele Insurance - Fairbank
TruServe Insurance Group - Readlyn
CAPS Scholarship
Students involved in a Cedar Valley CAPS program, or with any other CAPS Network affiliated program, have the following opportunity to earn a scholarship toward their enrollment at the University of Northern Iowa.
Victor Hwang,
Founder of Right to Start and former VP of Entrepreneurship, Kauffman Foundation
"CAPS is the future of education. It’s about teaching students to tackle real-world situations, applying entrepreneurial mindsets, and finding solutions when the answers are not multiple-choice or fill-in-the-blank. Those are the skills that create leaders of modern organizations, drive innovation to improve products and services, and grow economic prosperity for all of us."
Medical & Health Services
Mae Lillibridge, BSN
Western Home - Willowwood, Allen College Alumni Hall & MercyOne Cedar Falls Medical Center
CAPS Scholarship
Students involved in a Cedar Valley CAPS program, or with any other CAPS Network affiliated program, have the following opportunity to earn a scholarship toward their enrollment at the University of Northern Iowa.
Featured Podcasts & Videos
Cedar Valley CAPS has had the opportunity to be a part of a number of podcasts and video segments over the last couple of years. We have found that these featured episodes can give a very clear insight into what CAPS is and the impact it can have not just on the student associates, but local businesses and communities as a whole. We invite you to click on the episodes below to learn more about how Cedar Valley CAPS have made that impact since we launched our first cohort in January 2017.
WE MAKE PROFESSIONALS!
When local schools connect with local businesses, that creates infinite possibilities for local communities.
Cedar Falls CAPS launched in the Spring of 2017 with 13 student associates. Today it serves close to 175 future professionals inside six different industry-focused strands.
In the Spring of 2020, Columbus Catholic-Waterloo and Jesup became the first regional affiliates to offer professional-based learning programs.
Spring 2021 saw three additional high schools in the Cedar Valley CAPS consortium in Northeast Iowa. Denver, Don Bosco Catholic - Gilbertville and Wapsie Valley - Fairbank High Schools will begin their own Centers for Advanced Professional Studies in their home communities.
In the Fall of 2021, CAPS Industries is being added to the industry strand lineup for CF CAPS and Columbus High School will join Don Bosco CAPS.
In August 2022, Charles City CAPS joined the Cedar Valley CAPS consortium. Plus, Amy Bakker joins the CAPS family as the Cedar Valley CAPS Director supporting the regional programs with support from Central Rivers AEA.
WHAT IS CAPS?
CAPS is the Center for Advanced Professional Studies. It is an Innovative High School Elective Course that takes students outside of the traditional classroom for half the day, each day for an entire semester.
They are immersed in professional environments to develop problem-solving and professional skills to work on projects for real business clients.
This experience along with focused development on career exploration helps prepare each student-associate for their purpose beyond their life as a student.
CAPS is a Profession-Based Learning program that focuses on the development of Problem Solving and Professional Skills and puts the focus on Career Exploration to Prepare Students for their Purpose beyond education.
Cedar Valley CAPS and affiliate programs are a member of the CAPS Network programs across the United States, Canda and India.
Cedar Falls CAPS, Jesup CAPS, Don Bosco CAPS, and Columbus CAPS programs have been partners of the Governor's STEM Advisory Council STEM BEST Program
