More career choices possible
The School Board is excited about opening more academy programs.
By Jeffrey S. Solochek, Times Staff Writer
Published February 16, 2008
LAND O'LAKES - For 21/2 years, junior Justin Orr spent much of his time at Land O'Lakes High playing music, hanging out in the band room and talking with friends.
"That was pretty much my life," Orr, 17, said. "Then I heard about the IT program."
He referred to the information technology career academy that opened in January at Wiregrass Ranch High. Suddenly, the avowed computer lover found a reason to go to school every morning.
Orr doesn't even mind the nearly hourlong commute to and from his Connerton-area home because it means he can pursue industry certifications in computer networking and use his computer in just about every class - all without leaving his high school for a vocational center across town.
"I never want to go back to Land O'Lakes High," he said. "This is pretty much paradise for me."
Pasco school leaders want to create such enthusiasm for even more students who don't see themselves fitting in with the general high school curriculum. So they're building up steam to establish even more academies throughout the county, based on recently completed research about the area's job trends and industry needs.
The School Board plans a workshop for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday to talk about the direction the effort needs to head.
"I'm excited if this board decides to move forward with the same thought, that we're going to partner with the best, we're going to provide the best," said board chairwoman Kathryn Starkey, who has been pushing for a "rigorous and relevant" career and technical education program over the past year.
Board members have talked informally about the concept for some time. Starkey said she hopes this workshop will help the board to set some goals, while also making sure the board doesn't simply get an administrative request to approve something without having had input at the front end.
To foster conversation, career and technical education director Rob Aguis has put together a presentation explaining the new state rules regarding career academies and talking about the different options the board might pursue. Already, he said, the district staff has worked with community business leaders and paid for a university survey of the area business climate.
Having seen the enthusiasm generated by the Wiregrass Ranch program, Aguis added, "the other schools are really, really interested in taking on this academy approach."
Schools superintendent Heather Fiorentino has said she hopes to establish at least one academy in every public high school by 2009, "budget willing." Her staff has come up with a proposed list that includes academies with industry certifications in finance, teaching and construction.
Acknowledging that money might prove a constricting factor, Aguis said the staff has looked at alternatives such as offering some of the hands-on coursework such as auto repair at a car dealership. In the past, the district has relied on grants to support career-oriented programs.
"If we don't start thinking outside of the norm, I think time is going to pass us by," he said.
At the same time, Aguis said, he and others have been talking about the fate of existing career programs within the new model. Some, such as the health academies at Gulf, Mitchell, Ridgewood and Zephyrhills high schools, could be bumped into career academy status by adding an industry certification to them.
Others, such as cosmetology and culinary arts, may or may not include certification, though they currently lead to a state license, Aguis said. The board would have to determine what to do with those popular programs that don't fit the career academy mold in their current form.
Board members sounded enthusiastic about moving forward.
"I think it's a great idea to create career academies to get kids certified," board member Marge Whaley said. "Right now, we just don't have that. ... We just need to do more for kids who are not going to college."
Even those students who plan to attend college can use the academies, which include college-level courses and training for jobs they can do to help pay for credit hours, she said.
Wiregrass Ranch academy student Orr thinks the board is onto something.
"If they start sticking more things like the IT academy in schools," he said, "more people will be interested."
Jeffrey S. Solochek can be reached at solochek@sptimes.com or (813) 909-4614. For more education news, visit the Gradebook at blogs.tampabay.com/schools.
An academy for every school
Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino has said she wants to place a career academy at every high school by the 2009-10 school year, "budget permitting." Gulf, Ridgewood, Mitchell and Zephyrhills high schools would add industry certifications to their existing health academies to meet the goal. Here's the proposed plan for the others: