Column: Learning Matters: Teachers transitioning from technical careers are valuable. So how can we help them make the switch?

For nearly four years now, I’ve written about career education collaborations among the K-12 schools, college and workforce systems, including the Glendale and Burbank school districts, Glendale Community College and CSU Northridge. I’ve applauded successes like Clark Magnet High School’s award-winning environmental science programs and GCC’s Uniquely Abled Project that trains individuals on the autism spectrum to enter high-paying careers as computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine operators. I’ve highlighted the high school students who’ve spent their summers on school construction sites, gaining exposure to the variety of careers possible in the construction industry.

I’ve prodded GUSD to turn up the heat on its embrace of college and career education for all. “We go slow to move fast,” the district’s career technical education (CTE) administrator, Deb Rinder, tells me.

But I wonder, if I write this column in another four years, will it be the same story about a smattering of CTE successes? Will the commitment to collaborate extend beyond the expiration of the next round of grant funding or the next turn in the economy?

Just as I keep hoping for the day when every elementary student learns world folk music taught by dedicated music educators, I wonder what it would take to provide every high school student with some sort of meaningful and academically supportive work experience. What would it be like if the “real world” were not viewed as an alien landscape? What might develop in an education universe where more teachers and industry experts actually knew each other, where they interacted regularly?

Can we imagine a public school system in which some teachers taught part time and work part time in another field or where all students hear regularly from industry experts in their core curriculum? Is there a way the gig economy, in which employees move from one job to another, can allow more exchange of ideas and people between industry and public education? Might such a system draw more multitalented young people into a teaching career?

How much more convincingly could a math teacher convey the relevance of her subject if she spent time with architects or engineers? How effectively might an English teacher demonstrate the power of written communication in the workplace if he occasionally wrote grants or edited strategic plans in a corporate setting?

As it is, with rare exception, teaching is an every-day, very full-time, very demanding profession. And it’s facing a severe teacher shortage.

In core curriculum classes like English, math, history and science, teachers are already hard-pressed to cover their material, especially in Advanced Placement classes. With only 180 days of instruction, the thought of scheduling guest instructors can be overwhelming.

Many CTE teachers begin their teaching careers after years working in industry and must complete teaching coursework to earn an industry-specific CTE credential. But they, too, are expected to teach full-time loads to accommodate school budgets, master schedule needs and collective-bargaining agreements.

Finding and recruiting CTE teachers isn’t easy. It’s a challenging art that benefits from familiarity between the administrators who do the hiring and the industry professionals they need to meet the district’s aim “to prepare all students for college and career.” Keeping CTE teachers isn’t easy either, when skills-hungry industries are eager to hire them back.

GUSD animation teacher John Over left a successful animation career to join the staff at Clark when his son was starting school. A gifted teacher and collaborator, Over helped lead local efforts to teach industry-recognized skills and expand career opportunities for students. But after just a few years, he announced this spring that he’s returning to work as an animator for an offer too good to refuse. He’ll miss teaching, he told me, and I know the district will miss him.

I also know how hard it has been to find the right fit to fill the advanced manufacturing position needed for the new technology classroom building at Glendale High.

What if, in this gig-based, tech job market, our schools kept a door open for a cadre of CTE-credentialed professionals who, between jobs, could partner with classroom teachers to enrich teaching and learning for all?

I know some of these ideas are far-fetched. But I understand there’s a federal grant being offered “to address state and local shortages of high school CTE teachers.” Maybe it’s time for some new thinking about careers in teaching.

JOYLENE WAGNER is a past member of the Glendale Unified school board, from 2005 to 2013, and currently serves on the boards of Glendale Educational Foundation and other nonprofit organizations. Email her at jkate4400@aol.com.