A sudden change in relation to the Career Technical Education requirements evoked a spread of emotions throughout M-A’s student population, bringing both shock, uncertainty, and even a “thank god” feeling. On Feb. 26, 2014, district administrators decided to invoke a new rule which states that students can fulfill their CTE credits if they were in a foreign language of level three or higher, making it so that they do not have to enroll in a CTE class. Students were informed of the change via letters home, and it quickly became the topic of conversation for the days that followed.
“A few years ago, maybe five or six, there was a big push in the state to impose CTE course requirements, and new standards were written for courses to qualify as CTE,” states Instructional Vice Principal Steve Lippi. With this statement problems arose for M-A, as there were specific expectations that had to be met in order for a class to be qualified as a CTE class. When asked about the effects this past “push” had on M-A, Lippi claimed that “[M-A] had only a few courses that satisfied this requirement,” which gave rise to tension in relation to the fulfillment of CTE credits. Fortunately, this issue was taken into consideration and fixed, as now the Sequoia Board states that by taking a level three language or higher, students can transfer their credits to the CTE category. “[The change] will probably help free up one or two more periods for students to take classes they really want to take,” says Junior Jacob Feiler. Some students currently struggle to fit all the necessary classes into their schedule, and they see this change as a way to both lessen the number of classes in their schedule and fulfill their required credits for graduation.
With this change, the majority of students are cheering and jumping with joy. But for the CTE teachers, this change has forced them to consider the popularity of their classes before and after the change. John Giambruno, the video production teacher, believes that “with the CTE graduation requirement in place, the M-A elective program is very strong and most sections of CTE have a diverse range of students.” But with this change, Giambruno and several other CTE teachers are worried that the number of students enrolling in their classes will decrease. Giambruno believes the change is “very convenient for some students” but it will “dramatically hurt [the teacher’s] programs.” Although this is true, not all students are in the same situation. Sure, maybe the sizes of the CTE classes will decrease, but there will always be students who want to be exposed to possible career options and enroll in classes that allow them to have a break from pure academics. Giambruno and the other CTE teachers want students to enroll in their classes based on interest in the subject, and it is highly likely they will continue to have a steady number of students walking into their class on the first day of school in each new year that comes. Both teachers and students do not need to worry; the benefits of the CTE change outweigh the negative, and there will still be a large number of people enrolling in CTE classes in the years that follow.