Agriculture, engineering, land management, culinary arts, technology/media, and tourism are only a few of the offerings in the field of Career Technical Education.

I’m sure you remember all the fun electives you took in high school.

The classes you couldn’t wait to get into because that was where you really learned “life stuff.”

Today that “stuff” really can be what life has in store for a student’s future, and those electives are not just the fluff that round out a high school schedule.

The Career Technical Classes provided from seventh through twelfth grade have major meaning in the lives of students.

For some, they are a gateway to a lifelong career path. For others, they are openings into hobbies and interests that also last a lifetime.

My friend’s son is a very good example of the career path option.

Christopher enjoyed his first couple of years of high school with no idea what he wanted to do with his life beyond breakfast the next morning.

In his sophomore year of high school, he went to a career fair. He came home wanting to be an FBI agent or a scuba diver.

By his junior year, he was beginning to understand there was something beyond his high school days.

In preparation for college, he and his mom went through a community college course offerings catalogue and wrote down some of the things that interested him.

His eyes lit up over medical studies. Christopher knew what he wanted to do.

He looked for classes that would support his interest —math, dental assisting, anything that would allow him to explore his options.

In college, he continued his interest. He became an Emergency Medical Technician and a Certified Nursing Assistant. Christopher is now in the Air Force as a medical technician.

Other students might well find themselves in classes that don’t lead to a career field, but enhance other areas of their lives.

Taking courses in construction, cosmetology, careers with children, natural resources and land management, or auto mechanics seem like fun while taking them and can lead to enjoyment, profit, or a wonderful hobby.

Engineering, building trades, manufacturing, technology and business are more options for today’s high school students getting ready for their future.

The programs integrate the skills of a trade as well as the academics of reading, math, science, and social science taught in the general classroom settings.

Just like the academic areas, Career Technical classes utilize standards that include both the skill of the profession and the academics that go along with the work.

The hands-on career technical approach takes learning into a real and practical application of skills.

El Dorado Union High School District is a good example of where Career Technical Education is providing a strong support for integrated student learning.

With the passage of Measure Q and grant funding that the District is pursuing, the District is planning on adding facilities and programs to enhance their manufacturing engineering technology program at Oak Ridge High School and clean diesel/alternative fuels technology program at Ponderosa High School.

Students in today’s high schools have a wide variety of offerings that can lead them to careers or avocations far beyond the classes you and I might have participated in years ago in home economics or wood shop.

We would encourage all community members to log onto El Dorado Union High School District’s Web site at eduhsd.net to view all that is available to support our students in their efforts to learn, grow and make positive life choices.

Vicki L. Barber has been with the El Dorado County Office of Education for 25 years. In 1994, she was elected as the Superintendent of Schools.