Providing students with paths to careers
by Konstantinos Kalaitzidis on Sep. 29, 2006, under Education, Elections, LocalJTEDs would do that, proponents say
Catalina High seniors Nick Roman (left), 17, and Fabian Silva practice making a hospital bed in the certified nursing assistant class.
Pima County voters will decide Nov. 7 whether to take advantage of a program to expand career and technical education for high school students.
The program is called the Joint Technological Education District and will appear on the ballot as Proposition 400.
JTED would pool resources of school districts to let students take courses that may lead to college or directly to employment, said Kathy Prather, Tucson Unified School District’s career and technical education director.
Choices offered include nursing, pre-law, pre-engineering, technical optics, law enforcement, culinary arts, automotive technologies and aerospace and avionics.
The 10 JTEDs statewide receive a total of about $54 million a year from the state.
While there’s no firm price tag on Pima County’s JTED, funding would come from the state and increased property taxes.
Homeowners will be asked to pay 0.5 cent per $100 of the secondary assessed value. That would be $10 on a $200,000 home.
Without a JTED, more than 11,500 TUSD students are enrolled in career and technical education classes, according to the Arizona Department of Education.
Proponents of JTED say that number would increase because students would be able to cross school district lines. There are about 60,000 students in TUSD.
And with more high school students looking at career paths early on, they would be less likely to drop out of school when their “course of study has to do with their careers and futures,” said Holly Colona, TUSD’s lead career counselor. “When they see a purpose, school becomes more meaningful to them.”
Also, data show that students who already take career-path classes in TUSD do better on the AIMS test.
More than 93 percent of TUSD students who completed a high school career path passed the reading and writing portions of the state test, and more than 88 percent passed the math portion, according to the Department of Education.
Few high schools offer career courses. One is Catalina High Magnet School.
That’s where senior Jolisa Moonen takes her culinary arts classes.
“I prepare here for college. I would like to attend Scottsdale Culinary Academy,” said Moonen, 17, who credits the culinary arts class in her school for her decision to become a chef.
Other career classes at Catalina include nursing assistant classes and aviation structures repair.
Karessa Koste, 17, is glad her mom recommended the nursing assistant program.
“I think it (the nursing program) helps benefit me. Not everyone is made to go to college,” Koste said.
Aviation structures repair class student Steven Ryan Valdez, 17, also a senior, plans to apply for an apprenticeship at Evergreen Aviation, an aircraft service firm near Tucson, thanks to the aviation program.
Which benefits businesses.
“We need to invest in the future of this community. It is like investing in firefighting planes before you need them,” said Tom Hinman, Evergreen Aviation’s director of training and community relations. “The idea is to provide mainstream jobs for young people. I think the JTED is the greatest thing to come along in a long time.”
But not everyone is on board.
Mary Schuh, a member of the Pima Association of Taxpayers, said, “This is a whole new layer of government. It’s just one more tax increase.”
Schuh said she’s also against Proposition 400 because higher-income areas, such as the foothills, would contribute more money.
“This is selective taxation and taxation profiling. I am against one more tax,” Schuh said.
Todd Jaeger, associate to the superintendent and general counsel of Amphitheater Public Schools, said it’s worth it.
“There is a disparity in assessed valuation,” he said. “But by joining with other districts, you create enough student population to hire staff and specialize our offerings.”
Another upside is that students could amass credits that could be transferable to the University of Arizona or Pima Community College.
“Since we have U of A and PCC collaboration, up to 12 credits of course work can be completed there and may count toward a college degree, if they are transferable,” Prather said.
Mary Rowley, spokeswoman for Strongpoint Public Relations, which is promoting a “yes” vote on Proposition 400, said that as a parent, she’s excited about a JTED in Pima County.
“I would like to send my child to the program to gain skills and be exposed to careers and career choices before they enter college,” she said. “Even if you do not have any children, you must understand that you will be needing nursing or car repair.
“I think the goal is to create a 21st-century work force, and our schools should aim to do just that,” Rowley said.
“Cars have more computers on them now that spaceships (had) when we went to the moon.”
Ryan Valdez, a 16-year-old junior at Catalina, drills a hole into a metal plate in the aviation structures repair class.
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School districts requesting voter approval for the formation of the Pima County JTED:
Marana Unified School District
Tucson Unified School District
Sunnyside Unified School District
Ajo Unified School District
Indian Oasis Baboquivari Unified School District
Amphitheater Public Schools
Tanque Verde Unified School District
Sahuarita Unified School District
Vail Unified School District
Catalina Foothills Unified School District
Flowing Wells Unified School District
Source: Pima Joint Technological Education District Planning Subcommittee
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COURSES
JTED offerings would be based on the needs of businesses, but early proposals include:
Nursing and allied health services
Construction technology
Industrial manufacturing
Drafting and design technology
Automotive technologies
Pre-engineering
Pre-law
Public safety and security
Hospitality management
Biotechnology
Aerospace and avionics technologies
Imaging and media technologies
Law enforcement and fire science
Medical technology-respiratory therapy
Occupational therapy
Technical optics
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ON THE WEB
More information on the Web:
• Arizona Optics Industry Association
www.optics.arizona.edu/News/2005Newsletters/11-17-05.htm
• Survey on needs analysis for the Joint Technological Education District
www.schools.pima.gov/jted/BusinessSurvey.asp
• Arizona Legislature
HB 2700 establishing JTEDs
• Existing JTED program in Maricopa called EVIT
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How a JTED works
PROP. 400
● If voters in a specific school district pass Proposition 400, students in that district would be able to sign up for career path choices.
● Two or more school districts must receive voter approval to create a JTED in order for students to be able to take classes in different districts.
● Any district that does not receive voter approval Nov. 7 would not join JTED and would not be able to do so in the future, unless special permission is given.
● Courses would be offered to freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
● Classes are electives and are taken either at the student’s home school for up to half a day or at another school or district after school.
● Students would be transported to and from JTED facilities by school bus.
● JTED would be rolled out in three phases.
● College level credit could be given to students for their course work.
● Students who attend private schools could attend JTED courses if they live within districts that approve Proposition 400.
● No vocational or technological diplomas would be issued.
Phases one and two:
High schools would work to pool resources such as teachers, facility and equipment with Pima Community College and the University of Arizona.
Phase three:
Build a separate JTED campus, if necessary.
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Source: Moving Our Workforce Forward Committee
