'They need the tools to be successful'
Jan. 29—During a Business Connection Breakfast hosted by the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce on Friday in Marysville, local education leaders discussed the importance of career technical education options that are and should be available for the area's youth.
Commonly referred to as CTE, career technical education is a vital option for students who may not see college as the path forward for them in their lives and careers following high school.
While CTE classes or options may not have been as readily available to students in the region previously, the education leaders speaking at Friday's event said that is something they have addressed and are looking to expand.
The panel who spoke at Friday's event included Tawny Dotson, president of Yuba College; Francisco Reveles, superintendent of schools for the Yuba County Office of Education; Rinky Basi, director of Sutter County One Stop; Jami Larson, director of Categorical Programs for Marysville Joint Unified School District; and Mark Mulliner, business manager for Local Union 228.
The main focus of those on the panel that are deeply involved with CTE options for students stressed that their goal is to ensure students and young people stay in the region not only for continued education, but also for their careers.
"We are looking for different ways on how to better serve our students and the community," said Basi.
Reveles said he and the Yuba County Office of Education like to take a macro look at the CTE programs that are and can be made available to students in the region.
"Is it responsive and is it coherent," said Reveles. "How do we bring it together for students? ... We're working on a master plan. ... There's issues of students leaving Yuba County. I believe we are being responsive."
In order for CTE programs to be successful at schools, such as those within the Marysville Joint Unified School District (MJUSD), Larson said businesses will need to stay involved and be proactive in reaching out to a potential workforce of the future. She said one of those ways would be for the district to start a CTE bus tour program where students could get out of the classroom and see what's possible for them.
"Education is a joint opportunity to prepare our students for what's next," said Larson. "These are not your father's vocational courses."
Dotson said Yuba College has a long history of providing CTE-related courses, with more than a third of students involved in related classes.
Because college has been such a focus for most families, the panelists said CTE is needed now more than ever to fill the gaps left by those who were not always interested in what these types of programs could offer them.
"CTE is in a resurgence again in the state of California," said Larson.
She said CTE education was no longer taking a back seat in the education system and that the district offers nine different industry sectors for students at MJUSD. She said others are starting to see the importance of CTE in how the state measures the overall success of schools.
Larson again brought up the importance of businesses becoming involved with CTE education within the region's schools. She said business leaders have the ability to make more of an impact on a student's outlook than a teacher might, bringing a voice of industry into a classroom.
"We need to open kids' minds about what is a good profession," said Larson. "... We are hungry for these partnerships."
Mulliner credited legislation passed by the state as being a tremendous boost to what Local Union 228 can offer for the youth. He said mandates that required local workers were playing a big part in that.
"We can't put people to work without the jobs," said Mulliner. "Without legislation we wouldn't be able to do what we do. ... We have to have the jobs."
Reveles said the goal of CTE education is to meet the needs of the business community. He said he wants to foster those opportunities.
"It's an investment," said Reveles.
Letting students know what options are available was core to what MJUSD was doing, said Larson. She said they survey students in middle school for what they might like as a real career option. Larson said you have to have that conversation at a young age.
"We let them know how big they can dream," she said.
While Dotson said she didn't think middle school students could necessarily know at that point exactly what they want to be when they grow up, she did say it was important to reach out at that age so they "can be exposed" to what's possible.
As the panel began to take questions from the audience at Friday's event, one former student from the area spoke up about the need to engage with students. He made an impassioned plea to the educational leaders to really listen to the kids and what their needs and wants are.
"These kids have no idea what they want to do," said Anibal Robles.
Mulliner said it was important for schools to recognize which students are not going to college and give them a direction to go.
"You gotta push them, focus in that area," he said. "... Schools should really focus kids in the right direction. They need the tools to be successful."
