That, in its essence, is the response of Bob Olson, CCSD bureaucrat, to a successful partnership between West Ashley and Garrett Academy coddled to completion by a dedicated guidance counselor on his vacation last summer. In the program 19 West Ashley students manage to take career electives at Garrett.
The headlines are about its success [see Career school partnership sparkles]. However, towards the end of the article, we learn what that success means to current CCSD students.
If not for the dedication of a guidance counselor and officials at West Ashley, even this pilot program wouldn't have gotten off the ground.
According to Epstein (the WA guidance counselor), "West Ashley is the only high school in the district that has made this agreement with Garrett a reality, and . . . it's not because downtown district officials were pushing to make it happen." [Note: I hope Epstein's job is secure!]
Instead, CCSD is pushing for pie in the sky, by and by.
"Olson said officials don't have any concrete plans to grow the partnership but said they are looking at other ways to create more options and choices for students." [Nameless officials? Other ways for next year? Don't hold your breath.]
CCSD never imagined that a need would arise for career courses in its other high schools.
"Some of the trade programs need specific types of buildings and can't be housed in traditional classrooms." [Duh. How old are West Ashley, Burke, and Wando High Schools? Did the buildings they replaced have any suitable classrooms? Was the subject even on CCSD's radar screen when these new buildings were planned? Have communities asked for such programs in the past? Yes.]
Where are plans to add programs that don't need specialized settings?
According to Olson, "[nameless] officials are evaluating schools' course offerings, buildings and the community's needs to see what needs to be done in the future." [Ah, yes, the future.]
How about NOW?
If not for the dedication of a guidance counselor and officials at West Ashley, even this pilot program wouldn't have gotten off the ground.
According to Epstein (the WA guidance counselor), "West Ashley is the only high school in the district that has made this agreement with Garrett a reality, and . . . it's not because downtown district officials were pushing to make it happen." [Note: I hope Epstein's job is secure!]
Instead, CCSD is pushing for pie in the sky, by and by.
"Olson said officials don't have any concrete plans to grow the partnership but said they are looking at other ways to create more options and choices for students." [Nameless officials? Other ways for next year? Don't hold your breath.]
CCSD never imagined that a need would arise for career courses in its other high schools.
"Some of the trade programs need specific types of buildings and can't be housed in traditional classrooms." [Duh. How old are West Ashley, Burke, and Wando High Schools? Did the buildings they replaced have any suitable classrooms? Was the subject even on CCSD's radar screen when these new buildings were planned? Have communities asked for such programs in the past? Yes.]
Where are plans to add programs that don't need specialized settings?
According to Olson, "[nameless] officials are evaluating schools' course offerings, buildings and the community's needs to see what needs to be done in the future." [Ah, yes, the future.]
How about NOW?
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1 comment:
"Modern" educational experts have a cultural bias against vocational education. They believe that "working with your hands" is somehow demeaning. They have gladly shared that view point with the public, parents and students. We should know that many of these people have probably never lifted a finger to do manual labor or know nothing of the join of accomplishment after creating something that lasts. They can't do, or teach, but they do "teach teachers". It should be no wonder that they make vocational and technical education almost impossible to access. Most education "experts" never understood its essential value to maintaining a vibrant economy.
Only too late do many of the victims of CCSD's poor planning discover that college and universities are too expensive or they don't get in for a variety of reasons. That's when they discover that minimum wage is not livable.
It's too bad someone wasn't able to tell them that in 8th grade. A white collar job in a bank ($40K per yr or $20 per hr) sure beats a job as a semi-skilled worker in a tourist hotel ($16K or $8 per hr). But what no one told them was that a skilled mechanic, certified healthcare worker or experienced construction tradesman command upwards of $40K to $50K or more per year...even in Charleston's low wage economy. That's the same as $20-$25 per hour. This is not to say that post high school education isn't important. It says that we have to prepare students for much more than ONLY a college education. Just like those who say we have too many lawyers; there are never enough qualified professionals in many of these fields.
Some very lucrative trades build on high school performance, apprenticeships and job experience, frequently requiring little or no exposure to colleges or universities. But to connect kids with a future as an adult that is financially sustainable and personally rewarding, for them and their families, it requires that schools provide students with a broad level of competence and imagination while they are still in the middle school grades.
CCSD hasn't stepped up to the plate on this yet. I'm not sure they are even in this game at all.
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