Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 7204 |
| Work Detail | Students interested in careers in education or hospitality can choose from two new open-choice pathways in the 2016-2017 school year through Porterville’s Pathways program. As of right now, the Academy of Careers in Education (ACE) pathway at Granite Hills High School and the Academy of Hospitality (AH!) pathway at Monache High School are site-based, meaning they are only available to the ninth and tenth grade students already going to those schools. Director of Pathways Cynthia Brown said ACE and AH! will join the other 10 open-choice pathways next school year. She said the program is growing every year and 65 percent of incoming freshmen choose to go into Pathways. “We want to meet that demand and that’s why we’ve expanded our options,” Brown said. “So that we don’t turn anybody away and we give them an opportunity to study.” AH! pathway lead Becky Silvas said the academy falls under the big umbrella of hospitality, which includes recreation and leisure, travel and tourism, culinary arts and event planning. Right now AH! is focused on the culinary arts aspect of the program so most of the classes that students can take are culinary classes, Silvas said. She said when the pathway does become open-choice the students will be able to take hospitality classes as well. A few examples of possible classes include principals of hospitality and tourism, culinary arts I and II, commercial foods, event planning and geography for tourism, Silvas said. Silvas said as food shows on TV become more popular, culinary arts has become more popular culturally as well. The hospitality industry revolves around activities that people enjoy and are fun, Silvas said, but beyond that it is also one of the fastest growing industries in the state and the nation. “The combination of the student interest and the growth of the industry are what made us pursue this,” Silvas said. “I think that it would be a viable thing to offer the kids.” Rich Lambie, ACE pathway lead, said because there is a shortage of teachers, the ACE pathway is important to grow and shape teachers for the Porterville community. “Who knows our kids better than the kids in our community,” Lambie said. “Part of our pathway is to get kids excited about all the different jobs in education.” Lambie said students can choose to become elementary or high school teachers, special education teachers, principals, administrators, counselors, technology-based educators or any other position related to education. The four-year plan for this pathway includes introducing students to teaching careers, job channeling, exposure to educational sites and institutions and hopefully paid internships in the students’ senior year, Lambie said. Lambie said job experience and college credit are good reasons ACE is a great pathway, but it’s most important that the students be job-ready. “We have an advisory board of people in the community from Tulare county including retired administrators, teachers and people from the private sector that have an impact on making the curriculum that we’re using to make the students future-ready,” Lambie said. Before students graduate, Brown said “soft skills” like resumé writing, professionalism and knowing how to interview are built. Brown also said the goal is to have all of the students get an internship opportunity before they graduate. The existing open-choice pathways are Academy of Engineering, Academy of Health Sciences, Academy of Finance, Academy of Performing Arts, Alternative Energy Academy, Multimedia Technology Academy, Digital Design and Communication Academy, Environmental Science Academy, Emerging Agriculture Technology Academy and Law, Justice and Ethics. Next school year, both AH! and ACE will be available for open enrollment. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Hotel & Hospitality |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://www.recorderonline.com/news/pathways-expands-to-education-hospitality/article_f552f8be-73db-11e6-ac7e-3b2b08288e77.html |
