California Educator

August/September 2022

Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1476161

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 28 of 71

attitude of 'A-G for all' has really been devastating, because many traditional CTE classes are not A-G, even though they offer strong employment skills and opportunities for students." "I hope there will be a revival of CTE based on the additional funding, but I still see many school districts not spending the funds on high-quality programs that prepare students for high-skills, high- wage professions," adds Patterson. "Programs were cut in my district and they are not coming back. We still have a long way to go toward meeting the needs of all students." Funding for "old" and "new" CTE One place where traditional CTE has come back is Golden Sierra Junior Senior High School in Garden Valley, where Eric Harrelson reopened the automo- tive repair shop in 2020 that had been mothballed for five years. Harrelson had been hired in 2003 to teach shop and construction at Golden Sierra, the school he graduated from in the 1980s. But in 2015, a new superintendent dismantled CTE programs in the district. Harrelson and other instructors went from full teaching loads to being assigned one class per day. He returned to work in the private sector, and says it was devastating to see successful school programs cut to the bone despite an outpouring of community support. Since the newest superintendent brought back shop, automotive repair, welding and engineering courses, Harrelson now oversees a student-run auto shop where students provide services for El Dorado County residents such as repairing Students in Edison High's Green Energy Academy assist a private company with solar panel installations. Diane Grair, left, and Alyson Edge. Inset: student Alaiyah Holland. A C C O U N T I N G A N D M A R K E T I N G . Financial planning and professional ethics. Maintaining good credit, saving money and investing wisely. These are just some of the skills students learn from Burbank Teachers Association (BTA) members. In 2021, the program received a "distinguished award" from the National Academy Foundation, an industry-sponsored nonprofit with a national network of public-private partnerships that support career academies within traditional high schools. "Lots of people enjoy money, but don't really understand it," says Diane Grair, who teaches marketing, financial literacy and accounting. Students have excelled in the National Capitol Hill Chal- lenge, an online stock market game to teach investment strategies. Partnering with local businesses, students create business plans. BTA treasurer Alyson Edge founded the academy and now oversees it, along with the school's medical and engineering academies. She has co-authored a financial literacy book for teens, Time Worth Spending. "My favorite was the stock market game," says student Alaiyah Holland. "I was given $100,000 and three months and learned how to buy, sell and trade stock. I learned key terms such as a stock split and dividends. I plan to use my knowledge to attend San Francisco State University and achieve my goal of becoming a brand marketing manager." NAF Business Academy Burbank High School B U R BA N K 27 A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 2

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of California Educator - August/September 2022