Anchor Lead:
The drive to raise test scores and grades could be the end for the auto shop, construction classes and other vocational educational courses. Supporters of such programs say they're vital to preventing kids in high school from dropping out and offer a hands-on approach to learning. But top decision makers in the world of education say traditional vocational programs underestimate students and fail to prepare them for college. In the latest installment of our ongoing series, The Learning Curve KPLU's Jennifer Wing looks at how these worlds are colliding.

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Jennifer Wing(JW):

The Futuer of Vo-Tech

Michaela Higgins, a senior at Rainier Beach high school, wants to be a painter or a singer. She was on the verge of quitting high school because she didn’t think she really needed a diploma. Then she discovered cars.

MH: I never thought I was ever going to have an interest in auto mechanics. Then when I got hands on experience through school it helped me a lot to find out who I really want to be.

Michaela was set up with an internship through SEAWEST, a career and technical education program run by a teacher at her high school. She got hands on experience with professional mechanics who work on Seattle’s police cars. It was through changing oil and tires and working with band saws that Michaela made a connection.

MH:You need math. I never thought that math would be important, and you need creativity skills.

Michaela says her grades have improved and plans to go to a technical school for auto mechanics after she graduates. (Pause) Programs like this have existed for decades, but they have an uncertain future in the Seattle School district and districts around the country. Sharon Wilkins oversees Seattle’s High Schools and the district’s long-range plan to make its high school diploma a more academic.

SW:Previously we selected and sorted kids. Well, you’re a very bright kid, you need to go to college, so lets get you on the academic track. You may be a little slow and you need to do some of these things over here. That was not either accurate or democratic.

Wilkins wants to increase the number of classes ALL students need to take in Language Arts, Math, Science and Foreign Languages. This would mean less time for hands on programs like SEAWEST. Shep Segal is in charge of the Seattle School District’s Career and Technical education. He defends its purpose on a regular basis and shakes his head when teachers from academic backgrounds say they can do just as good of a job teaching students about a car engine from a text book than an auto mechanic who may not have a college degree, but who can rebuild a car from scratch.

SS: I think that’s the height of arrogance. Someone who has 20 years of experience diagnosing and repairing automobiles or in the manufacturing industry or running a child care center. I think they have something of great value to share with our students.

Both Segal and Wilkins have the best intentions for students. They want them to graduate. They want them to have options. Segal believes arming them with living wage job skills will open doors and save kids precious time in figuring out what they’re good at, and what they like to do. Wilkins disagrees. She says the district’s job is to preparing every student for higher education.

SW: If we don’t prepare young people to make that choice, then we have in fact made the choice for them.

The reality is most jobs in Washington don’t need someone with a college degree. According to a report by the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Board, 31 percent of job openings in the state only require a high school diploma. 23 percent don’t even need that. Greg Nielson is the General Manager of Nathan Hale high school’s award winning radio station known as C89, which is operated by the students he trains. Nielson thinks gearing all students towards higher ed is elitist and unrealistic.

GN: I know of whole groups of kids that are not going to succeed in that world and they need the skills we can give them. That’s what public education is about and we are diminishing those choices to the extent that we do away intentionally with things called “C.T.E.”; career and technical education, which gives the kids a different way to learn.

Career and technical education instructors are trying to figure out how to market themselves as indispensable. And as this push for more rigorous academics continues to build, vocational education teachers are starting to realize they need to highlight a link to math, reading and science. On top of pressure from the federal government’s No Child Left behind Act, the feds are getting involved in this issue on another front. Congress is reviewing the program that provides funding to vocational education. The Bush administration has expressed interest in revamping the law shifting its emphasis to preparing students for college. JW KPLU News Seattle