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Tech, Too, Cool for School Career-Prep Courses Offer Training in Lucrative Fields!Dlim

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 00:00 CST

By Charles F. Bostwick\ Staff Writer

PALMDALE - Assemblywoman Sharon Runner talked to teenagers making Web sites and video productions in a promotion for the Antelope Valley Union High School District's career-preparation programs.

The Lancaster assemblywoman visited Knight High School's computer and video production classes on a tour for Career-Technical Education Month, sponsored by the Antelope Valley Career Prep Council.

"Not every student is going to go to college," Runner said, noting that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposed state budget calls for putting $37.4 million into vocational education. "We need those mechanics. We need those home-builders ... They're good-paying jobs."

The Career Prep Council, an organization of educators, business people and other civic leaders, is conducting tours this month to show off career and technical-education programs both for teens who want to enter jobs right out of high school, as well as those heading to college and technical schools.

Dozens of career-technical programs exist at local high schools, ranging from interactive media technology at Knight High to culinary arts and agribusiness at Littlerock High, information systems at Antelope Valley High, health careers at Palmdale High, and law and government at Highland High.

The Career Prep council is recruiting businesses and other employers to offer internships for students, council chairman Randy Scott said. Internships give teens an opportunity to experience what a career would be like, he said. Teachers supervise the work the teens do.

"We've got kids out in a lot of different courses and also got them doing projects," said June Battey, the high school district's School-to-Careers director.

At Knight, Runner talked to multimedia students Catherine Barillas and Danilo Abrenica, who showed her the Knight High Web site maintained by students as well as a Devil's Punchbowl Web site created with Keppel Union School District Gifted and Talented Education students.

"I'm hoping for a career in computers or law. I like technology and I'm interested in law - either one," said Barillas, who is in her third year of computer classes.

Runner also visited Knight High's video classroom, where students sat at glass-topped desks manipulating images on computer screens in a video-production class. Others were in a small studio used for taping the campus's daily "Eye of the Hawk" news show, which goes out over the campus television system and online.

Knight High is only 3 years old, so it has no graduates yet, but computer students have already done work for small businesses designing Web pages, computer sciences department chairwoman Sherry Garmon said. One student creates business cards for companies.

Students also operate the school Web site, she said.

"All I do is supervise. At that level they're completely capable of handling the work themselves," Garmon said.

Garmon is trying to encourage more girls to enroll in the computer classes, made up now predominantly of boys. Such education is vital, she said.

"If they have talent, they need to be out there in that field, not flipping hamburgers," Garmon said.

Career education tours are scheduled for Wednesday at Quartz Hill High School, Thursday at Lancaster High School and Feb. 28 at Littlerock High.

The community is invited to join in the visits by scheduling with Battey at (661) 575-1025 or e-mailjbattey(at)avhsd.org.

Source: Daily News; Los Angeles, Calif.

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