Career technical education grants total $462,000 for Sonoma County schools

The Career Technical Education Foundation has approved $462,000 to date in grants to 19 school technical education programs for 2016.

The funding will go to 12 Sonoma County high schools, including support for middle school career exploration through Sonoma County Office of Education and regional education and training programs addressing health and agriculture careers at Santa Rosa Junior College.

Founded in 2013, the nonprofit organization has given a total of $1.34 million in grants to local schools.

The foundation works to improve the economic outlook for Sonoma County's youth by investing resources in a coordinated system of college and career readiness programs that lead to high-wage, high-demand, and high-skilled jobs in the county.

Since its inception, the Foundation has touched the lives of more than 3,000 students, seeded the development of 23 new or enhanced career technical education, or CTE, programs county wide, introduced career exploration programs at the middle school level, and coordinated regional training opportunities for high school students at Santa Rosa Junior College that provide both high school and college credit. This innovative and successful approach has been recognized and applauded as a model at the regional and state level.

'We need to continue the momentum that has been achieved by the CTE Foundation Sonoma County, of connecting industry with our students,' said state Sen. Mike McGuire. 'A skilled workforce, equipped with 21st Century technology skills, helps move our economy forward and makes our communities stronger. The CTE Foundation is unique in Sonoma County, and the State, for forging and maximizing this connection.'

Foundation-funded programs emphasize 21st century skills, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and relevant hands-on, real-world learning experiences focused primarily on seeding the development of new career technical education programs at the high school level. The aim is to significantly improve overall student success and achievement through innovative educational programs that simultaneously mirror local economic trends and workforce demand. This is accomplished by gathering input from local employers about the skills gap and workforce training needs to help guide and coordinate opportunities to build a constructive connection between educational institutions and industry leaders while retaining the flexibility to respond to the challenges and needs faced by both.

Several unique programs have been developed through foundation funding since 2013. They include the first high school farm-to-table program, the Switch Electric Vehicle STEM Education Project, the Regional Health Care Academy at Santa Rosa Junior College, Development of Engineering and Design Pathways, and the expansion of Project Make classes.

Other programs helped by the Career Technical Education Foundation:

• The CTE Foundation seeded the start-up of the first high school Farm to Table program in Sonoma County at Healdsburg High School in 2013. Programs provide project based learning and collaboration with local businesses to produce and market products locally and prepare students for a wide variety of careers in agriculture, viticulture, culinary, agri-tourism, agri-business and/or agri-marketing. As a result of CTE funding, three additional Farm to Table programs have begun at other high schools.

• The SWITCH Lab, is an Electric Vehicle (EV) design and manufacturing program for local youth to develop awareness, knowledge and skills around clean energy and STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). Four schools from across the county were selected, through a competitive grant process, to participate in the 'Clean Energy Education through STEM Learning' program, which provides instructor training, materials and curriculum for students to build a 'street-legal' electric vehicle. CTE will conduct tours of three of the Switch EV projects on Monday May 9, at 11:15 a.m. at Petaluma High School, and Tuesday, May 10, at 11:15 a.m. at Archbishop Hanna High School.

• CTE has collaborated closely with Santa Rosa Junior College, Sonoma County Office of Education and health care industry leaders including Kaiser Permanente, St. Joseph Health, Sutter Health, Sonoma County Health Services and numerous other health care providers to develop a Health Careers Pathway for high school juniors and seniors to explore and train for careers in Healthcare. Programs are designed to introduce high school students to healthcare career opportunities through lecture, lab, and fieldwork experiences. Programs draw from high schools from throughout the county and take place at Santa Rosa Junior College and onsite at the Kaiser Permanente facility.

• Beginning in 2013, the CTE Foundation funded five new engineering/design sections some of which have been permanently adopted by their districts. Several districts, including Petaluma, Windsor and Sonoma Valley, now offer students multiple levels of engineering/design courses through pathway and academy models. As a result of CTE funding, the course offerings in this area have grown from one program in 2012 to as many as 21 courses today, including Project Make classes.

• Project Make courses offer project-based classes inspired by the Maker movement – students work with traditional and 21st century tools to explore, create and innovate. Classes may include experiences in wood, metalworking, electronics, robotics, programming, digital design manufacturing and entrepreneurship. As a result of CTE funding, Project Make classes have expanded from the one course offering in 2012 to at least eight courses/sections county wide today.

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