BY
EARLENE WARD - OF THE SIERRA STAR
PHOTO BY VANESSA FIERSTADT
Students in the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) class work with
guidance from instructor Tony Misner (right).
Three years
of career education is required for graduation from Yosemite High
School. These classes must be counselor-approved and may include
vocational, academic or fine arts course work.
YHS offers a wide variety of vocational/technical classes, many
of which are offered through the Regional Occupation Program (ROP).
There are 19 different vocational/technical courses offered in 29
classes.
YHS Principal Steve Raupp believes the career classes are an important
part of the high school curriculum. “While all schools place a strong
emphasis on academics and preparing students to be successful in
college, we know that reality is that not all students will go on
to earn a college diploma,” he comments. “Vocational education programs
offer students who may not be college bound an opportunity to develop
skills necessary to focus on a career path that prepares them to
enter the workforce and be successful.
“As a former vocational education teacher, I know how important
it is for students to have strong skills that will prepare them
to attain an entry level job or go onto advanced vocational training,”
Raupp says.
“At a time when many schools are eliminating vocational programs
we are fortunate to be able to continue to offer students quality
vocational offerings that prepare them for the job market,” the
principal adds.
Yosemite Joint Union High School District Superintendent Bill McCabe
says the fact that the board has made career education a graduation
requirement is evidence of its support for career training at the
high school level.
“Clearly, not every student will continue his or her formal education
after they graduate from high school,” McCabe says. “Our goal is
to prepare every student so they can make their own career choices.
We want to give them the competitive edge no matter what path they
choose.”
ROP classes are two-periods long and serve as the culminating course
in a given field. ROP classes at YHS are: Careers in Justice, Careers
in Education, welding, Emergency Medical Technician, and auto.
Other career/technical classes offered are EAST (Environmental and
Spatial Technology, three classes), wood I (four classes), wood
II, home economics II/III, home economics I (three classes), arc
welding (three classes), oxy welding (two classes), auto (three
classes), web page design, drafting (two classes), journalism, and
yearbook.
There is also an agriculture program at YHS offering ag biology,
ag mechanics, ag science I (two classes), ag science II, and ag
science III/IV.
Technology proficiency is also a graduation requirement for YJUHSD.
There are two computer technology courses offered in addition to
the EAST classes and Web page design.
Raupp points out that there is at least one computer in every classroom
at YHS as well as computer labs in the library, career center, journalism
and yearbook lab, EAST, video production, web page design classroom,
and agriculture classroom.
There are 269 computers at YHS for student use, with a ratio of
4.13 students per computer.
Each of the alternative schools in the YJUHSD has computers and
students work on them on a regular basis. Evergreen High, which
is an independent study school, has some laptop computers that students
can check out to use at home.
Raymond Granite High School has six computers for student use; Ahwahnee,
six; Mountain View, 17; Glacier, 14; Foothill 16 and Evergreen,
18.
Facilities for career/technical education have been included in
the building project at YHS. The building that houses auto, welding
and wood shops was converted from one large open building into three
separate rooms; the entire campus was wired for the Internet in
the early stages of the construction project; a riding arena will
be installed at the ag farm this summer or early fall and classrooms
have been renovated for use as computer laboratories.
A separate computer lab was built when the library/media center
building was renovated, giving teachers a place to take their classes
for specialized computer training. There are also computer stations
within the library and in the career center, which is also located
in the library building.
YJUHSD trustees and administrators held meetings throughout the
2003-04 school year with area business owners to hear what they
would like students to know when they enter the workforce.
Raupp says “The school is looking at how we are currently addressing
the areas of importance which were identified by business owners
and exploring ways in which we can further prepare students to be
successful in the workplace.”
YHS has a full-time career technician, Stephanie Samuels, who works
in the career center and helps students plan for their future. She
has organized career fairs at the school where local employers come
to accept job applications and talk to students about job opportunities.
She has also planned career days, bringing professionals from a
given field into classrooms to address students.
Last year, the Future Business Leaders of America club hosted an
interview workshop designed to help students know what to expect
from a job interview and how to prepare a resume.
The alternative education high schools also encourage vocational
education for all of the students, notes Alternative Education Principal
Roberta Tackett.
She explains that alternative education students can take vocational
classes at Yosemite High School and they also encourage on-the-job
experience for which students receive credits. Many of the students
are placed in jobs, Tackett said.
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