Agriculture & Natural Resources Sector
Arts, Media & Entertainment Sector
•Visual & Commercial Art Pathway
Building & Construction Trades Sector
•Residential & Commercial Construction Pathway
Manufacturing & Product Development Sector
•Machining & Forming Technologies Pathway
•Food Service & Hospitality Pathway
(Note: This is the introduction to a series that will focus on the six technical education sectors at Sonoma Valley High School.)
A few years ago, a student in the career technical education program at Sonoma Valley High School found his career calling early: to work on a particular type of high-end cars.
“I arranged a job shadow for him with a dealership in Marin that carried that make of vehicle,” said Wendy Swanson, the work-based learning coordinator for the College and Career Center at the school. “The job shadow led to an internship, which led to full-time employment after graduation while he completed his associate of arts degree at the College of Marin.”
The student is one of thousands who became inspired by the school’s career technical education program and followed their dream to achieve a successful career.
SVHS has offered strong vocational courses ever since it opened in 1891. Formerly known as trade classes, in the 1980s career technical education (CTE) courses became the preferred term because it recognizes the connection between academic and vocational courses.
“Our own classes have evolved to reflect trends in industry needs throughout Sonoma County, and an increasing emphasis on the integration between CTE and core classes,” Swanson said.
The California Department of Education (CDE) identifies 16 career technical education sectors, six of which are offered at the school: agriculture and natural resources: engineering and architecture; building and construction trades; arts, media and entertainment; manufacturing and product development; and hospitality, tourism and recreation.
CDE lists several possible career pathways in each sector, nine of which are offered in six sectors at SVHS. Each of the pathways has its own lab or shop with state-of-the-art equipment, and the agriculture pathway has its own farm, complete with garden beds, livestock paddocks and a production vineyard.
“One of the great things about our high school is that we are able to offer such a variety of programs to really try to reach and engage every student, and CTE plays a huge role in this,” said SVHS Principal Molly Kiss. “When students have the opportunity to really dive in and engage in hands-on learning, exploring a new career field can ignite a new interest that is their spark to seeing a path for themselves beyond high school, thereby helping them nor only persist through high school, but also in their future education and training.”
Kiss says that CTE classes often draw students who may not otherwise be engaged in typical core classes. Students are attracted to the pathways for many different reasons.
“Some intend to make a career in a particular field, others are just trying things out, some are looking for a class in which they work with their hands or exercise their creative skills,” Swanson said, adding that the overall makeup of the classes is about 62% male and 38% female.
SVHS has an open enrollment policy, so students can join a CTE pathway course at any time during their high school career. Students are encouraged to take all courses in that pathway and those who complete the two-course progression are considered pathway completed, a designation that is reported to the state.
To graduate, all SVHS students are required to complete the University of California’s requirements for admission: four years of English, three years of math, two years of history, two years of science, two years of a world language, one year of visual and performing arts, and one year of a college prep elective. Students in a CTE program also need to take the courses in their pathway.
The school’s CTE classes are taught by credentialed, CTE-certified teachers, and community partners provide considerable assistance. Most pathways have advisory boards, and a general CTE advisory board consists of industry professionals from the CTE disciplines as well as teachers, administrators, representatives from postsecondary institutions and the Sonoma County Office of Education, parents and community members.
“These partners assist our programs in advising our program leaders of current trends, equipment and skill sets needed for employment in their industries,” Swanson said. “The same partners provide assistance in speaking to students, assisting in evaluating classroom projects, allowing students to tour businesses and industries, providing job shadows or internships, and providing contacts in different areas.”
Some of the internships lead to apprenticeship positions. For instance, several SVHS students have participated in the North Coast Builders Exchange’s senior year Construction Corps program, which culminates with the “Summer Boot Camp,” from which most participants are offered an apprenticeship or direct employment in the construction field.
Last summer, Peterson Mechanical Inc. offered its “Heavy Metal Summer Experience,” which trained students in the metal fabrication, sheet metal and plumbing trades. Many recent graduates who completed the program were then enrolled directly into apprenticeships with the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association.
“One of our recent students struggled with discipline issues and was unsure about what to do after graduation,” Swanson said. “The student participated in the heavy metal program and has now entered into an apprenticeship program.”
The U.S. Department of Education released a report in 2019 exploring CTE, which includes statistics from studies conducted alongside the National Center for Education Statistics and Institute of Education Sciences. It showed that 94% of CTE students graduated from high school by the expected graduation year, compared with 86% of non-CTE students.
The studies also found that 98% of CTE students graduated from high school by three years after their expect graduation year, as opposed to 92% of non-CTE students. Also, 72% of CTE students were working full-time eight years after their expected graduation, compared with 67% of non-CTE students.
“As a former high school principal, I can attest to the value of a high impact Career Technical Education program to increase opportunities for students to reach their college and career goals,” said Dr. Adrian Palazuelos, superintendent of Sonoma Valley Unified School District. “It is highly imperative that our work in career technical education is connected to our industry and higher education partners such that Sonoma Valley USD graduates are well positioned to be successful in their postsecondary journey.”
The State of California has recently invested a considerable amount of money in CTE programs, including the K-12 Workforce grant, which has provided SVHS with more than $1.2 million in funding for CTE programs during the past four years. This has helped the school to purchase equipment for its new construction tech program and new computers for its digital arts and media program, enabling those programs to have dual enrollment status with Santa Rosa Junior College.
The funding has also facilitated the expansion of SVHS work-based learning programs and new equipment for the Agriculture & Natural Resources Pathways, among other things.
“I am optimistic that our school district will continue to create increased opportunities for our students through this highly important work,” Palazuelos said.
Reach the reporter, Dan Johnson, at daniel.johnson@pressdemocrat.com.
Agriculture & Natural Resources Sector
Arts, Media & Entertainment Sector
•Visual & Commercial Art Pathway
Building & Construction Trades Sector
•Residential & Commercial Construction Pathway
Manufacturing & Product Development Sector
•Machining & Forming Technologies Pathway
•Food Service & Hospitality Pathway
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