Education Week - June 2, 2016 - Diplomas Count - 14

"We have a
business to
run, inventory
to keep.
This isn't a
simulation."
Mary Miller
Curriculum Specialist
Bryan High School

Advance CTE, which represents state career and technical
education directors.
In middle school, students take a career exploration
course and a career interest survey. Based on the results, a
career cluster is assigned to them. They meet annually with
their counselor to review individual learning plans and career interests. And students must compete for a spot in the
popular urban agriculture and transportation academies.
The school launched the academies four years ago in
response to the state's labor needs, Aranda said. One
in 3 jobs in Nebraska is agriculture-related, and, the
state's central location makes it a transportation hub.
Despite the local demand for employees with skills
suited to those industries, students aren't aware of what
jobs in those fields can look like, said Mary Miller, a curriculum specialist at Bryan working with several career
education programs at Bryan.
"When they think ag, they think cows and plows," said
Miller, who has brought students on tours of agriculturerelated businesses, such as Farm Credit Services headquarters in Omaha. "Their jaws drop. ... They say, 'I can actually
work here?' "
Tony Jesina, a senior vice president at Farm Credit Services and a business-advisory-council member at Bryan,
shows students the technology, underwriting, sales, and
operation divisions at the 700-employee office. "You
have to get out of the walls of the school because then
you see people that work there and the environment they
work in," he said.

Big Trucks, Bigger Economies
In the transportation industry, talking to students
about the economy that "never sleeps" and showing
them the big trucks can generate excitement among students, said Jim Walsh, the recruiting director for Truck
Center Cos. in Omaha and a member of the TDL advisory
council. It's important, too, that students understand
early to keep a clean driving record (a requirement for
a truck driver) and know the relevance of what they are
studying to a future career, he added.
At Bryan, students interact with employers and college
recruiters at career fairs. Students in TDL, who can earn automotive-services, forklift, and OSHA (Occupational Safety
and Health) certification, create résumés as sophomores.
Joshua Hogrefe, a TDL teacher, requires students to
introduce themselves to the business representatives and
follow up with them afterwards.
"That's where the real learning occurs," said Hogrefe,
who emphasizes communication, being on time, and
professionalism. "Employers tell us they can train for
whatever technical aptitude is necessary, but if [students] don't come to them with good career-readiness
and employability skills, it's not worth the investment."
Next to Hogrefe's classroom is a makeshift distribution
center for First Book, a nonprofit based in Washington
that Bryan has partnered with for three years to give
books donated from publishers to low-income families.
Last school year, Bryan students processed orders and
shipped 500,000 books.
"We have a business to run, inventory to keep," said

Education Week Diplomas Count * June 2, 2016

Miller, Bryan's curriculum specialist. "This isn't a simulation."
In the distribution center, Fernando Ruvalcaba, a
junior, said books must be packed in time for the UPS
pick-up. "It's just showing us what happens in the
workplace," said Fernando, who wants to work as a
supervisor one day. "It's hands-on. You remember the
process more because you are actually doing it."
Over in the urban-agriculture academy, students in
Channing Reha's animal-science classroom are learning about chickens firsthand-one is roaming between
the desks, and six chicks are in a bin. "She's a cuddler,"
Reha said of the chicken named Audrey, known to sit in
the students' laps. The students care for the birds and
will manage their egg production once they are moved
to their newly built coop outside the portable classroom.

Connecting College and the Workplace
Bryan also offers individual students the option of
learning off-site.
Senior Ashley Gomez spends about half the school day
at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, working
with various animals including zebra sharks and penguins. Without the Zoo Academy experience, Ashley said
she may not have developed a desire to work as a zoologist with endangered elephants. Gomez will be among
the first in her family to graduate from high school and
attend college. She plans to enroll at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln and major in animal science.
Early evaluations of Bryan's academies show participating students have higher attendance rates, grades,
and engagement than the school's nonacademy students. When the first class of students graduated from
the urban-agriculture academy last spring, they earned
on average 21 dual-enrollment credits, and TDL students earned 13.5 credits that can be used in college. (The
school has a partnership with Metropolitan Community
College and some high school teachers have adjunct faculty status to teach the college-level courses at Bryan.)
Teachers say part of what makes the programs work
is that the students take courses as a cohort, creating
small learning communities. In addition to the specialized courses, the students take core subjects that weave
in transportation or agriculture.
For instance, Matt Pearson covers food scarcity in his
world history class and farm subsidies in U.S. government
with urban-agriculture students. For economics, he's
brought in entrepreneurs, had the students pitch businesses
using the popular "Shark Tank" television-show format,
and invited speakers who work in local community gardens.
Although the school is diverse, Pearson added, the students' perceptions about their career opportunities may
be limited. "They may think the only two options for
them are the packing plant or a job in flooring or roofing.
Just because it's a diverse group of kids does not mean it's
a diverse group of options and future ideas. You have to
bring in those people and break the cycle of poverty." n

Visit the HIGH SCHOOL & BEYOND blog, which tracks news and trends
on this issue. www.edweek.org/blogs

http://www.edweek.org/blogs

Education Week - June 2, 2016 - Diplomas Count

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - June 2, 2016 - Diplomas Count