Saved Schools

Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS)

Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS), nominated by Getting Smart and an anonymous organization, is a high school in Overland Park, Kansas, that describes itself as a public district school serving learners from a primarily suburban area.

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Location Overland Park, Kansas

Governance Public District School

Grades High

Students 600

Locale Suburban

Director Chad Ralston

Demographics

Percentage of students*

19%

English Learners

8%

Free/Reduced Lunch

11%

Students with Disabilities

African American or Black 4%

American Indian/Alaska Native —

Asian 16%

Hawaiian or Pacific Islander —

Hispanic or Latino 8%

White 66%

2+ Races —

Why Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS) was nominated

The Blue Valley Center for Advanced and Professional Studies (CAPS) takes an innovative business-partnership approach to giving its students professional and business skills that help them succeed in a range of industries. A national affiliate program, CAPS Network, has grown to about 75 school districts. CAPS courses provides hands-on, real world experience in six career fields: Accelerator (entrepreneurship), Bioscience, Business, Engineering, Human Services, and Medicine & Healthcare. Projects, mentors, and internships promote engagement, relevance, and career preparation. , CAPS applies a learning ecosystem approach that enable students to explore career pathways and engage in real-world projects that prepare them for life after high school. They are an example of how business, community, and public education can partner together. , Blue Valley implements the innovative learning model, CAPS (Center for Advanced Professional Studies), which provides real-world, profession-based learning opportunities through collaborations with business and community partners to prepare students for college and career.

Student experience design

Students are creators of their own destiny. Each student goes through a self-discovery process about their strengths, what they love to do, and a problem they want to solve. Then they explore the careers that are possible in that arena. "Know thyself, deploy thyself!"

Core Practices

Core Practices Length of Use

Career Exploration
5+ years

Client Projects
5+ years

Industry-aligned Learning Pathways
5+ years

Industry Networking
5+ years

School-based Enterprises
5+ years

All Practices

Advancement On Mastery

Student Advisories

AI For Learning Materials

AI For Teacher Productivity

Assessments For Agency And Self-directed Learning

Assessments For Career Readiness

Assessments For Social-emotional Skills

Blended Learning

Career Advising & Support

Co-leadership

College Advising & Support

Community And Workforce Partnerships

Culturally Responsive Practices

Flexible Staffing & Alternative Teaching Roles

Higher Education Partnerships

All Courses Designed For Inclusion

Industry-recognized Credentials

Educators Have Industry Experience

Internships

Individual Learner Profiles

Individual Learning Paths

1:1 Mentoring

Multi-tiered System Of Support (MTSS) In Academics

Project-based Learning

Peer To Peer Support

Performance Based Assessment

High Quality Instructional Materials

Service Learning

Student-led Conferences

Students Access Their Own Data

Student-led Goal Setting

Self-paced Learning

Students Develop Projects

Universal Design For Learning

Career Prep

key reasons for innovating

Demonstrate what’s possible for other schools

Increase student agency

Increase teacher agency

Date Updated: 4/1/2026

*Canopy profile data is self-reported or sourced from NCES data, then verified by school leaders.