The Poway Unified School District has received the Golden Bell Award from the California School Boards Association for one of its Career Technical Education programs.
The CTE Jump-Starting Pathways to Rewarding Careers, which gives students as early as elementary school hands-on experience, is the recipient of the award, which highlights the best education practices across the state.
Poway Unified is one of 39 winners of the award.
Through the program, students can receive real-world, hands-on experiences in a career area that interests them and that connects them to their core academics. The CTE program represents a wide variety of industry sectors, from agriculture, engineering and business to arts, construction and medicine, according to district spokesperson Christine Paik.
Exposure to CTE pathways starts as early as elementary school, where students learn about their strengths, interests and ions through programs such as Project Lead the Way, which offers computer science, engineering and biomedical science to students in hands-on activities, and Xello Career Exploration tools, which is software that helps with college and career readiness.
“I’m especially proud of how our district has worked hard to improve access for historically underrepresented students in high-demand STEM fields such as computer science, engineering, health sciences, and business/entrepreneurship,” said Superintendent Marian Kim Phelps. “Earlier exposure and exploration of these areas helps to inspire more students in pursuing their ions and dreams in high school, college, and future careers.”
Over the past several years, the district’s CTE department has worked with school site and district leaders, counselors and teachers to closely examine offerings and patterns and promotion and post-secondary transition opportunities to improve access and equity for students of color, students with disabilities, English learners, female students in STEM, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and students in foster care or experiencing homelessness, according to Paik.
Enrollment in CTE courses has grown by 70 percent and now serves 20,742 students.
Targeted demographics have all grown in numbers, and female enrollment has increased by 67 percent. Other groups that have increased include English learners, students with disabilities, those with low socioeconomic status and homeless/foster youth.
One student provided the following comments: “Having taken engineering courses in high school, I was able to discover different career paths in the industry and understand what each path requires. From there, I was able to form a clear idea of what I wanted to pursue post-high school. I was able to apply skills learned in the classroom directly in my internship at Northrop Grumman, where I excelled.
“These experiences helped me succeed in a male-dominated industry, one where many leaders don’t come from backgrounds like mine, that might have seemed intimidating to be a part of; I am better prepared for college, career, and life.”
Kathleen Porter, executive director of Career Technical, Adult, and Alternative Education added, “More than ever before, our students are yearning for a voice in their educational journey. We believe that we have provided a unique opportunity for student voice and agency through our work and look forward to sharing this work with other districts.”
The Golden Bell Awards are presented by the California School Boards Association to promote excellence in public education and school board governance practices. CSBA is a non-profit education association that represents the elected officials who govern public school district and county offices of education, ing nearly 1,000 education agencies and more than 6 million students statewide. To learn more about the Golden Bell Awards and all 39 winners, visit: https://gb.csba.org/.
