Rick Patrick: Greene Publishing, Inc.
This is the tenth in a series of weekly articles about the challenges facing our school district, and the measures proposed to meet those challenges.
As many high schools nationwide have turned their focus toward preparing students for college and university, programs traditionally known as “Vocational Education” have often been left by the wayside. This track of education has now become known as “Career and Technical” education. The idea behind this type of educational program has traditionally been to prepare students not planning on college or university to enter the workplace with marketable skills right out of high school. While the number of programs available to students may have diminished over the years, the need for this training has not. “The work of electricians, builders, plumbers, chefs, paramedics, carpenters, mechanics, engineers, security staff, and all the rest is absolutely vital to the quality of each of our lives. Yet the demands of academic testing mean that schools often aren’t able to focus on these other capabilities at all. Vocational programs – such as carpentry or welding classes, cosmetology classes or many of the other practical areas of study available in some US high schools and in the vocational schools that dot our cities and suburbs — are seen as second-rate options for people who don’t make the academic cut,” said Ken Robinson, PhD., in a May, 2015 Time magazine article entitled “Why Schools Need to Bring Back Shop Class.”
Locally, at Madison County High School (MCHS), there are three areas of Career and Technical Education available to students; allied health, criminal justice, and business and technical education. The allied health classes, taught by Monica Dyke, offers students interested in the medical field an opportunity to explore the field and decide if they actually want to work in healthcare. The allied health classes at MCHS offer training and certification in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) training, and Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training. According to Dyke, when a student finishes the Allied Health III class, he or she will be prepared to take the certification exam and begin work as a Certified Nursing Assistant. The demand for CNAs is high. “I have already had calls asking about students who are getting ready to graduate,” said Dyke. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the Northeast Florida non-metropolitan area (which includes Madison County), the average yearly salary for CNAs is $24,950. Many students begin a health care career as a Certified Nursing Assistant and then continue their education in order to pursue a Licensed Practical Nurse or a Registered Nurse degree. For Emergency Medical Responders, the demand is even higher. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that, through 2024, there will be a 24 percent growth in demand for EMRs, faster than the average for all occupations. The average wage for EMRs in the Northeast Florida non-metropolitan area is $28,620.
According to instructor Jason Fletcher, the criminal justice program serves as an introduction to the criminal justice field. In order to obtain any type of certification in the criminal justice field, a student must be at least 18 years of age. The classes offered at MCHS in this field does allow a student to determine if the criminal justice field is a good fit so they can go to one of the various law enforcement academies after graduating from high school, or study criminal justice in college.
The other Career and Technical area of study at MCHS is the business and technical education program, taught by Michael Radel. This program gives the students the opportunity to learn, via “hands on” training, about web-site design and development and information technology. The program at MCHS offers 90 industry certifications, including certification as a Microsoft Office Specialist. This offers training in Microsoft Word, Power Point, and Excel. Radel also offers an entrepreneurship program which teaches students the ins and outs of opening and operating a small business. The program at MCHS gives students the unique opportunity of getting valuable hands-on experience by operating a t-shirt shop in the school. The students get experience in designing and printing the shirts, maintaining inventory, sales, etc. Future plans include adding business law to the list of classes available.
According to Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Karen Pickles, there is a desire to add a welding program to the available career and technical area. Although not as robust as other areas, the demand for welders is expected to grow over the next several years, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
For school administrators, it will continue to be a delicate balancing act between “academic” education and “career and technical” education. Both are important. “It seems that for some policy makers, ‘academic’ is a synonym for ‘intelligent’. It is not. It has a much more limited meaning and refers to intellectual work that is mainly theoretical or scholarly rather than practical or applied. This why it is commonly used to describe arguments that are purely theoretical and people who are thought to be impractical. Of course, academic work is important in schools but human intelligence embraces much more than academic ability. This marvelous variety is evident in the extraordinary range of human achievements in the arts, sports, technology, business, engineering, and the host of other vocations to which people may devote their time and lives. The vitality of our children, our communities — and our economies — all depend on cultivating these talents more fully. That’s what’s really involved in leaving no child behind,” stated Robinson.