It’s the real world in the classroom

Sara Martinez signed up for Automotive Technology at Escondido High School because she thought it looked fun, and she wanted to learn how to change a tire. Now, she can change a tire and calculate the amount of power in a battery.

Automotive Technology teacher Tim Latulippe (left) works with student Brandon King, right, as he sets out to find the cause of an emission control failure on a Ford Escort. — Howard Lipin

(Howard Lipin)

Sara Martinez (left) and Guadalupe Vargas, students in the Automotive Technology class at Escondido High School, sort automotive fasteners while learning about their purpose. — Howard Lipin

(Howard Lipin)

Josh Smith didn’t know what to expect when he started the Virtual Enterprise class. Then he was hired as the vice president of advertising and serves as the lead graphic designer for Cougar Custom Banners, one of two businesses that the class runs.

“They’re producing a real product for a real client,” said teacher Curtis Ziegler, whose students also run Custom Cougar Tees. “If there’s a mistake, there’s waste.”

Times have changed when it comes to auto shop and home economics in the Escondido Union High School District.

“It’s not just about learning a trade,” spokeswoman Karyl O’Brien said of the district’s College, Career & Technical Education program.

The district has been committed to job skills education for years. About three years ago, it added a “college” emphasis to the program “to convey the message that we’re trying to get students ready for both college and career,” said Dominick Gagliardi, principal of the district’s adult education and CCTE programs.

College, Career & Technical Education classes integrate technical and academic skills with the goal of helping students succeed when they enter college, a trade school or the work force.

“It opens doors for not just learning a skill and exploring careers, but definitely scholarship opportunities, employment opportunities and networking opportunities,” O’Brien said.

And, taking a class like fashion design or culinary arts also may simply help prevent a teen from dropping out.

“Another important factor of (CCTE) is that many times students lose interest in high school, but they find the one program in career technical education that they really like, and it keeps them in school,” Gagliardi said.

For career technical education standards, the state identified 15 “industry sectors” — each with two or more career pathways — considered essential to the economy.

Escondido offers classes in 12 sectors: Agriculture & Natural Resources; Arts, Media & Entertainment; Building Trades & Construction; Education, Child Development & Family Services; Engineering & Design; Fashion & Interior Design; Health Science & Medical Technology; Hospitality, Tourism & Recreation; Information Technology; Manufacturing & Product Development; Marketing, Sales & Service; Transportation.

Students gain practical experience, in addition to the hands-on and academic lessons, by learning how write a résumé, fill out a job application and conduct themselves during an interview.

“They’re marketable skills,” O’Brien said. “They’re things the kids can use while pursuing a higher education.”

Some of the classes count for college credit and many are acceptable electives for admission to California’s public universities.

Career technical education has been added to graduation requirements, too, Gagliardi said. Starting with the class of 2013, students must earn 10 CCTE or college prep credits. Previously, students had to take five credits of practical arts to graduate.

Career technical education classes are important, too, for the way they enhance academic essentials like writing and math, teachers said.

“It gets them out of their seats and it’s wonderful kinesthetic learning,” said automotive technology teacher Tim Latulippe. “This is applied physics here. Wheel alignment is geometry.”

Sharon Eichten has seen technical education transform from basic skills to career focused during her 37 years at Escondido High.

Eichten, who teaches popular culinary arts and fashion design, said she is career-focused with her students, who often are tapped to cater school events for outside-the-classroom experience.

When she reminds them to keep their kitchen work stations clean and organized, she’s teaching them about accountability and helping them develop an eye for detail.

“Everything is about the skills they need to be successful in the real world.”