For many high school students, figuring out what they are going to do after they finish school can be challenging. After all, there are so many paths to choose from: heading to college right away, enrolling in vocational or trade schools, joining the military, or entering the workforce immediately and each and every student has their own diverse goals and aspirations.
At Escalon High School, the Career Technical Education Department, CTE, just celebrated the opening of two state-of-the-art training spaces, which will provide students with additional educational and practical experience in both the Food Science and Emergency Medical Response fields. From the ultra-modern, amenity filled gourmet kitchen in the new Food Science Lab to the new Emergency Medical Response Classroom filled with real equipment and options for hands-on training, students can pursue careers in both of these fields and enter the workforce with a wealth of experience and job readiness.
“Today represents years of vision, dedication and collaboration,” said Kate Powell, President of the Escalon Unified School District Board, as she addressed a packed house filled with students, parents, faculty and emergency responders. Though EHS already offers robust educational experiences, completing these two projects has been especially meaningful for many Escalon educators, parents and students. The Emergency Responders pathway has been in effect for the past few years, but now will benefit from the new classroom setting and the Food Science Lab expands the Ag department offerings.
As EUSD Superintendent Ricardo “Ricky” Chavez noted, “Each pathway is designed to combine classroom learning with real world applications to help prepare students for the workforce and to help ensure their success.”
Chavez highlighted the increased focus on food safety, food science and culinary education that the new Food Science Lab will offer to students as well as the enhanced learning in the Emergency Medical Response Classroom, which is equipped with everything from mannequins to practice on to EMT Bags filled with gear to help future generations train for careers in the medical field. Students can enroll in the EMT I Course and can advance to EMT II as well as EMT Leadership Courses throughout their high school journey. These CTE Courses provide college credits in addition to providing invaluable skills and knowledge.
“I wanted to learn more about the medical field and I have enlisted in the United States Navy where I might end up becoming a medical corpsman someday and all of this training will help me with that,” student Alex Leon shared. “I also like the high pressure and intensity that comes with emergency medical response so I have really enjoyed the real-world scenarios.”
Whether students enroll in Career Technical Education courses at the beginning of their high school careers or wait until they are ready to explore options closer to their final couple of years in high school, the newly expanded Career Technical Education Courses and Classrooms will provide them with college credits in addition to providing advanced knowledge and real-world experience that will enhance their professional lives for years to come.
For more information on these programs, visit: escalonhigh.org
