Holbrook High Career Programs Bring Students Even Closer To Their Dreams

By Tammy Gray-Searles
   “You can be anything you want. We’ll help you,” Holbrook High School guidance counselor Cindy Percy told a group of eighth grade students touring the high school.
   The high school offered the students a first glimpse at a number of opportunities that include receiving a college associate’s degree at no cost by the time they graduate from high school.
   Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at the school range from early childhood development for students interested in becoming teachers, to welding, auto body repair, computer-aided drafting (CAD), construction technology, and programs that focus on business management and leadership, and audio/visual technologies and web design.
   “We’re really encouraging them to take at least one year and explore something,” Vice Principal Char-les Haussman explained. “We want to give them opportunities, whether they’re college bound or not.”
   In all of the programs, students graduate from high school with a set of skills they can use to build a career, or jump-start their college career.
   Percy explained to the eighth graders that many students go straight into good-paying jobs, including a current senior who has been offered a job starting at $18 per hour upon his graduation from high school. Early childhood development teacher Cheryl Carlson pointed out that students who receive an Associate’s degree upon high school graduation can either start their careers earlier by finishing college in two years, or can spend the next four years completing both a Bachelor and Master’s program, opening up even more career choices.
   Carlson also told the students that the programs offer those who may have difficulty paying for college a way to obtain a degree without needing any funding. All of the credit hours, tuition and books are at no cost to the students.
   Richard McPherson, who teaches the auto body program, explained that more than 90-percent of the students that enroll in his program go on to work in auto body repair for a living. Business management program teacher Susan Nafziger pointed out to the students that many of the classes she teaches are college level, and audio/visual teacher Ginny Novell noted that her students get hands-on experience by producing the school newspaper both in print and online as well as creating videos and other multi-media presenta-tions.
   Adrian Tubbs, who leads the technology construction program told the students that whether they go on to work in construction or not, they learn skills in the program that they will use the rest of their lives. CAD teacher Jim Mendell pointed out that his students leave the program ahead of their counterparts starting college or technical school.
   “We’re placing an emphasis on doing a better job of getting kids ready for the workforce,” Haussman explained.
   He noted that while the focus remains on academics and college readiness, the programs offer students alternatives, whether they plan to attend college or not.
   “We’re really trying to give them as much enrichment, as much opportunities as possible,” Percy said.
   Percy noted that while it is unrealistic to expect eighth graders to lock in decisions about what they want to do for the rest of their lives, the tour of the career programs is designed to get them thinking about careers that interest them. They will be given a chance to sign up for entry level career technology classes and then decide whether they want to continue on in that program.
   “By the time they’re a junior, there is a commitment to the program,” Percy explained. “It is a two-year program, and by that time we need to make sure they’re really committed to it.”
   She explained that in January she meets with every freshman and outlines a four-year plan. Although they are not permanently locked into the plan, it serves as a guideline for their time at high school to make sure they are ready for either college or the workforce by the time they graduate.
   “My job as a guidance counselor is to help guide them in the direction they want to go, but to also let them know the requirements and the reality of it,” Percy said.