By Margaret Hopper

After eight months of starts and adjustments, the Opportunity High/Vocational Education department is looking back to see what progress has been made by students in these new programs at Silver High. Considering that the entire country is in financial difficulty and that most districts hesitate to expand under such conditions, the project is being watched and is gaining interest.

The planners began with a report they could refer to, written in 2012, under the name of Senate Memorial 65, a Feasibility Study for a Career and Technical Training Center. The creation of this 50-page study made for Grant County attempted to project how a technical/career center would benefit the county by increasing occupational opportunities and meet employers' needs.

This work spanned several months of the year 2012, seeking to examine labor market needs, costs and benefits, local skills needs, construction and maintenance costs of a building, and the costs of implementing the plan by phases. A list of area officeholders, WNMU staff, businesses and other interested people were identified as stakeholders.

The building and funding of such a center never materialized, but the heart of the matter, shifting the curriculum of interested students from the college track to more personalized offerings for career and technical offerings, gradually took shape. Local surveys were given to parents (34 completed) and 465 were completed by students to locate areas of interest. By analysis, the information pointed to seven "pathways" to be developed.

Using existing quarters and the same staff, the changes were hardly noticed. Time and money morphed into different directions rather than requiring major adjustments. The first class, welding, began in the fall of 2014, "on a shoestring." According to Jason Ping, Silver's new OHS/VE director, welding is still the students' favorite.

In general, half the day was spent at WNMU doing the dual credit work and the other half was back at OHS/VE doing the classroom work in math, English and other subjects needed to fill out the requirements. Some additional pathways included CNA work, Early Childhood Education and more, Not all of these required time at the college. Some could be done entirely at Silver High.

The interesting idea is that the transition was done with enthusiasm on the part of the students, but not much excitement otherwise. No new buildings or bond issues were undertaken. Planners simply shifted the VE students to the OHS building, books and assignments were geared to practical applications rather that college prep. Students made their own way to the WNMU campus for welding, electrical and classes. Some offerings were entirely at the OHS building. The community hardly noticed any change.

The shared experience with college students affected the plans of what could be offered. Construction classes were anticipated to start in January, 2015, but the eight from Silver were too few to fill a class, and the numbers of college students didn't make up the difference, so that plan was put on hold. But enough WNMU students took electrical training that two from Silver could take that class. Ping related that the boys appeared to be going for journeyman's licenses and had cut half the time from their advanced studies. Another year should finish them; this year's time and expense were covered by high school funding, a $1500 expense that first-year vocational students were given.

Not all of the 80 students from OHS/VE are taking technical training. 35 are in VE this year and more are expected to enter this fall. The others are looking at credit recovery for differing reasons, as in the past. The staff notices differences on the part of those who moved from credit recovery to VE, says Ping. Some have become more excited about school and their grades and attitudes have improved. A few have made remarkable growth since becoming Vocational Education students.

One adjustment needed early on was the school hours of the students taking electrical work. That class lasted from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. They needed to report to Silver classes at something nearer noon, not the usual morning hours. Another problem was that those evening hours kept them out of extra-curricular events; many students didn't sign up for the dual credit classes for this reason. That scheduling need may remain, at least for the WNMU classes that aren't day-scheduled. Students will have to make hard choices about their futures.

Vocational Education is versatile, too. Ping said that CNA training may not be available under that specific title, but related training as home health, or training for work at Fort Bayard or under similar names, may still give students enough overlap that they will have the needed skills in the end. By getting training in the field, they may still get enough of the requirements to help them reduce the time needed in classes at higher levels.

OHS/VE students have another benefit they can work to their advantage: elective credits. A part of their day may be spent working for a local employer. 120 hours in a nine-week period gives them a half-credit toward graduation. Students are not limited to a single elective effort; more are possible. This on-the-job experience builds them in many ways, and students can learn while still in high school whether the direction they have chosen is really where they should be.

With a year's experience in how to attract and serve students entering the program, the big issue still comes down to the finances for many kids. Once the first-year benefit of the $1500 supplement is ended, students will need some way to pay for their dual credit work. Ping and other associates applied for and recently received a $50,000 grant from Freeport-McMoRan that will support this next year's group. Those funds will buy things like welding helmets, tools or special equipment, a huge boost for parents and kids who just can't afford it.

Further into the future, the Carl Perkins program could be implemented, and it, too, offers financial benefits for vocational ed students. This is a national program that students may apply for. When they meet the conditions, certain expenses will be reimbursed at the end of a semester, according to Ping. He said it was possible to have this partnership in place before another year arrives. So, there are finances "out there" that can help carry the load for families. There may be other programs, too; they are looking.

The important thing is to have good, solid information about the options, committed students and their parents, and be showing progress. This year's 35 students have impressed the high school and the college. It's a known fact that the kids can succeed; they are doing that. Staff thinks numbers should increase this fall; with 45 to 50 of the 80 OHS spaces going to VE work rather than credit recovery. That will be evidence that the program is growing. Hopefully, credit recovery can gradually phase out to kids attending for the technical courses. The opportunities are expected to expand beyond the OHS/VE population and start including more of the high school students in general.

When students improve their grades, gain dual credits and cut the time needed to get them into better paying jobs here locally, they have done their part. Their potential should be incentive for local businesses to take a second look and commit to what Silver is doing. Never before has Grant County been offered a pool of trained graduates well on the way to meeting local job requirements.

County and city offices and local businesses will be invited to meet with the VE planners to show what jobs and careers they can offer to qualified trainees. And the business community can explain what skills and qualifications they hope to find in new employees. The trainers hope to get students ready to meet these demands.

In the past, positions for a mapper, grant writers, big equipment operators and other semi-skilled opportunities bypassed the local workers. They didn't qualify. Small businesses or local offices might let a few learn on-the-job at considerable risk, but most searched for people beyond the county boundaries. Taxpayer monies didn't really benefit local people. No matter how talented a person was, unprepared workers stayed at the bottom of the employment pool. The upward-mobility ladders didn't work for them.

That is what the dreamers and planners are working to change; education can change the odds for the local people to take the better jobs, if schools can prepare them. The kids have to see the opportunities and commit to gaining these skills. Some will make the grade and rise above where their parents were able to go. Nothing is guaranteed, but it now becomes possible.

The list of unsung heroes who helped put these ideas together may not benefit personally, but they hope to see a turn-around for citizens here in Grant County. They have done a lot with very little investment. No bond issues, no big debts, just their ideas, long hours and a lot of hope. They hope others can catch the vision and help the vocational department become a firm, permanent reality. They are due a big thank you for their generous efforts and hard work.

The vocational education department has to grow and needs to offer more in the future. But the groundwork has been done and others need to build on what has been a good start. It is time for some local successes: our small businesses, our county and city jobs and our vocationally trained kids need to come together.