Latest / The Bridge To Tomorrow's Talent Podcast / Ep. 16 Career Ready Starts Early: Building Pathways to Success

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Ep. 16 Career Ready Starts Early: Building Pathways to Success · The Bridge To Tomorrow's Talent Podcast

• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning or good afternoon.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us whenever and wherever you are.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Zachary Hill, and I am the host here on The Bridge to Tomorrow's Talent, a podcast where we talk about the future of the workforce, work-based learning, what it takes to get started into a career, and what really makes the real world of work tick.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: We're joined today by Stephen Long from Santa Ana Unified School District.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Stephen, thanks so much for being here today.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us just a little bit about what you do there at Santa Ana?
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_02: You're welcome, Zach.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me today.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: I'm currently the director of career education and workforce innovation.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Great.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: And what is that title?
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: What do you do, you know, day to day?
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: How do you work with the students?
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great question.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm I'm leading the career technical education or CTE programming for uh Santa Ana Unified School District.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we have uh 21 pathways and about 5,000 students that engage in career uh programming in our district.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so my role is to ensure that all resources are in place so that students uh have the best advantage and and are able to be career ready once they leave our district.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's I think very, very needed nowadays, right?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: To make sure the students are ready to go once they actually graduate.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't think if I asked a high school student, though, uh, do you want to be a CTE director when you grow up, that they'd even kind of know what that was.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: So how did you get from uh aspirational high school graduate to where you are today?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it it was a long journey.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, I'm I've been in education uh since uh 1998 as a uh substitute teacher uh after um you know completing my bachelor's degree program at Cal State Fullerton in radio, television, and film.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_02: Uh I had spent some time in my early days in in performing arts, and I come from a family of uh performers and um you know went into the uh radio, television, and film program thinking that I wanted to uh create productions and and work in media in some regard.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um however, after completing my program at uh Cal State Fullerton, stellar program, by the way, um I did need to work uh right out of school.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, my story kind of aligns with the need that a lot of students uh have in Santa Ana.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um I took care of myself through high school.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we had a big family, and I had uh we had a one or one-earner household, and um and so it was necessary that that I work to kind of help out.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so the opportunity to uh work as a substitute uh teacher in education uh came forward.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: And so um I I progressed uh through a lot of the roles in public education, uh substitute teacher, worked in extended day programs as a special education aid.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um my early engagement with students really uh sparked more of my interest in supporting students through the the education process, and less about uh being a direct uh instructor or a homeroom teacher per se.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um and that's really when I decided to commit to counseling and school counseling.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so I had spent uh some years uh in school counseling um and then working with students across the domains, uh the academic domain, the socialemotional and behavioral domain, and then the career domain.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_02: But what I recognized uh being a comprehensive school counselor is that we weren't so inclusive of career education.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so that really sparked my interest.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: And um in my final years in in counseling, um, I started to really emphasize what does it look like to be career ready?
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_02: And what does it look like uh for each individual?
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_02: Because again, we're all set apart uh by our different traits, our different qualities, our desires, our values, our our skill sets.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_02: Um and when I had the opportunity to uh come to Santa Ana to work in career technical education, this is where I found uh the satisfaction and really my passion for helping students understand what they're going to do once they leave uh, you know, K-12 schools.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh that's really what landed me here.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um and I, before becoming director, served as a coordinator of college and career readiness in the CTE program.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_02: And I was able to stand back and look at the role that teachers have, that parents have, that the school district has in helping students truly become college and career ready.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: And when the opportunity presented itself for me to become director, I threw my hat in the ring.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: And um I really give um you know a lot of credit humbly uh to our esteemed superimpress uh superintendent, Dr.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: Lorraine Perez, who took a leap of faith and said, you know what, Stephen, I want you to come on board and help me with uh this major priority that I have, which is to help students be career ready if that's what they want to do once they leave us uh as a graduating senior.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: So uh at this time we're kind of in uh an evolution uh with uh CTE, which is why uh we've rebranded CTE in Santa Ana Unified School District as career education and workforce innovation, bringing innovation, bringing futurist initiatives uh to bear in our programming so that students are prepared, especially when we recognize that uh innovation is moving very, very fast.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_02: And if you don't keep up, uh it could uh have implications on your career readiness.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so um I'm very excited to begin this journey.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, haven't been quite a year as director, but we have got a lot uh uh of tread uh and traction on on the ground uh to be able to get students uh the programming that they need to be competitive in the Orange County region.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's fantastic.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And so you didn't necessarily end up doing what you thought when you were in school and and you know headed through college and that kind of thing, but it sounds like you really found your passion as you worked your way through the career and did the work.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: You found what really lit you up about education, and that's career readiness for you.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: And I and I have to say that there's a lot of the skills that I learned throughout uh my early formative years in uh elementary, middle school, uh in high school, um, and then you know, in the program that I uh uh took in at Cal State Fullerton to really uh um help me with where I am today.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I didn't jettison any of my interests from before.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: I I'm able to actually capitalize on those skills um and really incorporate that in the work that I do as director of career educational workforce innovation.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's great to hear that you brought all those skills forward into this role you find yourself in.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's fantastic.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: So to talk about the district's work a little bit, to dive into Santa Ana, I think when some folks hear CTE, career technical education, uh, they might think about like an isolated elective or a vocational program that you know you do for a year or two in high school.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: But how does Santa Ana Unified define career education and workforce innovation today?
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: Well, it's a great question, and it's absolutely true about uh the misconceptions that are there about uh programming in a given school district.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_02: You know, as students going in, as parents of students that are in the K-12 system, we look at going through and meeting English language standards, math standards, science standards, and being generally prepared uh for college or the workforce.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the reality is that we recognize that um early on, students stand out uh with distinction in different skill set areas uh uh in different strengths.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_02: And so um what career technical education allows is for students across uh a breadth of pathways in the 15 uh California state recognized industry sectors, be able to, at the early ages, become aware of what roles and occupations are out there.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_02: To see what's possible now right and see what's possible.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: And so I say in um you know elementary education, we're career aware.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_02: So quite often the littles they'll recognize, you know, what mom and dad do, what auntie and uncles do, you know, grandma, grandpa neighbors, uh, they'll see uh notable uh workers in in the the community, right?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: And and kind of get an idea of what work looks like.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then once students become developmentally uh aware of uh the the various occupations under an industry sector, and that you know, uh a white lab coat doesn't always mean just a doctor, right?
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it could mean something more specialized, a radiation tech, a respiratory tech, uh, a phlebotomist, right?
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um students start to see, ooh, I see myself fitting into that.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_02: Um, want to be in the medical sector, but I don't think I want to be a doctor necessarily.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so in the middle school, or as we refer to it, in the intermediate uh grades in Santa Ana Unified, students start to explore more in-depth uh occupations and then start to um explore with hands-on project-based learning opportunities.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um, this paves the way for students to now commit.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: And this goes back to your question.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um, CTE as just a program or an elective, um, really what we want to do is inform uh students, uh, their parents who support students in commitments is that CTE is a sequence of studies specialized in um, yes, an industry sector area, but it it relates to an academic area, academic strengths.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: How often do we hear from students?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not good at math, but you know, I'm I'm really good at writing, I'm really good at speaking.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_02: So what we do is help students understand in the early years, in the intermediate and middle school years, what possible opportunities are going to be best aligned with their skill sets once they get to high school.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_02: By the time they get to high school, I refer to it as career experience.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_02: So in CTE, there's a sequence of courses to be a CTE completer.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: Uh there's two courses that students take.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_02: Quite often we refer to it as the foundations, these are the uh intermediate courses, or sometimes we call them concentrator courses.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_02: Students are concentrating on the fundamentals of uh a pathway.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_02: So I spoke earlier of healthcare.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_02: I'll I'll keep in terms with healthcare.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_02: Students are now learning the early vocabulary that is in healthcare, some of the uh ideas of patient care, caretaking, and um, then students move on from this intermediate or concentrator course to an advanced or a capstone course.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: Now, this is where the students uh really get that experience, where now they're applying what they've learned in the foundational or concentrator course and uh and practicing it.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_02: And so what this does is this puts students in a lab.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: And in Santa Ana Unified, what we are endeavoring to do is create an environment uh that replicates industry standard labs.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we have a few high schools uh that have actual operatories, which are like clinic offices for students to practice such healthcare uh applications.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so um from there, students become skilled up uh through that practice.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: We also ensure that students are getting certifications.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: So when we market that CTE or career education is a pathway for students to take, not just an elective, they're earning industry-relevant certifications that sometimes are prerequisites for entry into the workforce.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh either early skill or middle skill.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: So um we we we endeavor to message all of this through proper counselor advising, um, also through working with parents to inform parents, not just an elective, not just a course uh with a box next to it that needs to be checked in order to uh serve as a high school graduation credit, but truly something that prepares them for immediate entry into the workforce or for the vehicle of college to prepare them even further beyond what they uh learn through CTE programming.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_02: So I hope that captures um, you know, a lot of what uh you were inquiring with that question.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it sounds like you guys are doing it end to end, right?
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: All the way from elementary school and just opening their eyes about what's possible.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I know like my son doesn't know exactly what I do, right?
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: He knows I go to work, but I have an office job where I sit in front of a computer and he's not always sure what I do, where he already understands what a firefighter is, right?
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's really easy for him to make that connection.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: So we got to show him what's going on.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then you're providing such like authentic real-world training, actually getting students to work in like a clinic setting, or I'm sure you have a lot of programs going on that you're proud of, but is there one program in particular you could maybe share us a story from of a you know, a student that saw something change for them, or just a lab that's really gotten on its feet?
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what are you really proud of right now?
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I have to say that um we often align the pathways that uh we implement with the Orange County regional labor market that has needs.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh one of the needs here in Orange County through 2030 uh is in um information communication technology um and in engineering.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so we have students that are uh taking internships uh in very um elevated uh businesses such as uh L3 Harris uh aerospace and defense.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um and we also um have students uh that are with um uh an engineering program in um Edwards Life Science.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_02: And so one of the things I hear after a student uh leaves their internship is that wow, I I didn't know uh what these opportunities look like.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: I would drive by a building and I would say, you know, that that building um creates uh software or you know, uh does you know missile defense, but I don't know what the nuances are of the work.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: The internships that we supply to Santa Ana students give them that insight.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_02: So what then happens is they build confidence.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: And there's there's a few particular students who, through uh their internship experience, have come back uh and I've asked them, I said, you know, what is it about this experience that made you want to commit to it?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: Well, first I was interested, they would say.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but next, they would share that um it gave them the confidence to speak uh amongst adults.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_02: Quite often in high school, students are around their peers, right?
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_02: And they're directed or guided throughout the day through a teacher.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_02: But there's something to be said about the different messenger.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_02: You have a teacher that says, well, you got to learn this concept for mathematics, but it doesn't really hit the same way that it would be if you had an engineer from a defense aerospace company in their environment saying, This is why you got to learn this math equation, because it's going to go into the coding that creates the GPS to defend and so on and so on.
• 17:24
  unknown: Right.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: So it really makes it real for them.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_02: It makes it real for them.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_02: They then see the relevance of the work that they do.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: That's fantastic.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, those are the kinds of uh feedback uh narratives that we get from students who recognize that okay, CTE is not just an elective, CTE is not just a quote unquote program.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_02: This is an experience that either affirms or redirects me into uh another uh avenue of career and and life, truly.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you know, if I had to, lots of school districts uh have been doing this kind of work, right?
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I think there's a real change that's happening across the board now in terms of making it more real, getting those authentic industry connections.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: If there was one thing you could communicate to other school districts about what Santa Ana is is doing and building that's really vital, what would you want to make sure that other educators were hearing so they could take that back to their teams?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I would really offer two um uh action items here.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_02: One of which is uh before a student lands in the experience that I had just shared in the previous question through an internship, uh pre-apprenticeship, an apprenticeship, uh even a paid uh job, let's say, students need to see the relevance of the core content that they're learning as early as possible.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_02: And so one of the activities that I'm looking forward to implementing in Santa Ana Schools is aligning core content standards with the California CTE model curriculum standards.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: And that way, what can happen at the end of a unit or a chapter is that a teacher, whether they're a core content teacher or they're a CTE teacher, can spike the ball in the end zone and say, that's why you got to learn uh mathematics.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: That's why you got to learn chemistry because it relates to this job or this activity, uh activity that you'll do in your life.
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_02: So I would say is bringing relevance to curriculum through partnering with core content teachers and career education teachers.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: It gives this um cohort uh the common language that could be used across all areas in the educational day so that students again are seeing the relevance of their entire day, bell to bell.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_02: So that's one.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_02: Two, again, I'll double down on internships and again just experience.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_02: So the culminating experience that happens for students, and again, hearing from industry directly, another educator, let's say, uh through an industry mentor who's affirming what the teachers taught them in the 12-year commitment that they had, right?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_02: Or really 13 if we include kindergarten, uh, you know, in education.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: So I think, but not waiting until internships happen, creating business partnerships, creating industry partnerships with the school district to allow now industry reps to come in to the school setting, perhaps co-teaching, if you want to think of it, alongside the homeroom teacher or the core content teacher to double down on what's being taught by that homeroom or that core content teacher.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so again, that can be an experience, having an industry rep come in and affirm what's being taught, in as much as having students go out in an internship uh field work experience.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_02: And so those are the two recommendations that I would share specifically in California.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_02: We have a statewide uh issue of declining enrollment.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_02: How do we make learning relevant?
• 21:28
  SPEAKER_02: How do we keep students in the seats?
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_02: How do we keep parents committed to our public educational institutions?
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that this is the avenue.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_02: Create relevant learning and create augmented learning experiences for students.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: Make them see why it matters and then give them experiences to go out and apply it and actually get experience, like you said, working with people in industry to see what the real stuff looks like.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: That's that makes sense.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think those are great takeaways.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you what would you like to see Santa Ana's program, you know, five years from now, if we're looking out into the future, what kind of is your your hopes and dreams for where the program can get?
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_02: I love that question because uh I I always like to set goals both near term and and long term, and and it goes back to uh what I'm advising uh that other school districts uh try to replicate, which is um integration.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so uh let's let's talk about what my my of my 10-year plan, my the first three years.
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_02: So it goes back to that communication piece, you know, dispelling of misconceptions and actually creating the message so that um others don't create the narrative for you.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_02: So right now we are working with our family and community engagement department to uh work with parents to understand what the opportunities are in Santa Ana schools.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that way, uh parents don't have misconceptions about a given industry sector.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_02: They're uh understanding that, no, this is a regional need, this is what the salary looks like, and uh here's what the college uh or post-secondary opportunities, I should say, uh look like in order for my student to achieve this.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_02: Um and so then um after uh we get to um you know working with these parents over the next three years, I also want to be including, as I shared, um our teachers.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_02: So creating professional development um with those uh core content teachers that align with a given uh industry sector.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_02: So uh we talked about engineering.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_02: So bring my engineering teachers together uh on a release day and in in and pay for a substitute to go in that place.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_02: Um and then also for those uh core content area teachers, such as uh science teachers of of uh various disciplines and math teachers, uh, we'll say, and bring them together so that they can align and understand where they intersect with the California standards of the teaching profession and the CTE model curriculum standards.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: That way, again, we're creating common language between the core content area and uh the CTE uh and career ready um uh standards.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_02: So that is really what I'm looking to do uh over the next three years.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_02: Then between years four and five, let's implement it.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_02: So those core content teachers are doing exactly what I had shared.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_02: They're speaking uh career ready language and doing uh the work of CTE uh teachers just as much as uh CTE teachers are doing the work of core content teachers and um affirming that no, you need to know this science content, you need to know this mathematics content.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_02: And by year five, if this is in our system, here we're creating that relevance, as I had shared.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_02: And that's the start uh to improve engagement uh and to improve persistence uh for our students, and also help our parents understand the relevance of K-12 education and keep their students in our our public programming uh because there's immense value here, and we're being very intentional uh about our public programming.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_02: Again, not just checking a box.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I mean it sounds like vertical and horizontal alignment, right?
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: You're taking the vertical alignment all the way out of school, into their career, off into the job market, making sure that what they're learning actually aligns, and then getting all their teachers kind of across the board to stick with this idea of relevance and career forward thinking.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a fantastic place to be in five years.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: I hope uh I hope you guys make it there.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds great.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are some of your students doing now today?
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like that clinic example earlier was fantastic, uh, that might surprise adults that are outside of the education system who don't get a look into the high schools, maybe they don't have kids that are that age in their own life, you know.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think would surprise some adults that your students are already doing today?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I think what would surprise some of the adults, uh the parents, the caregivers, and just the community members is that our CTE programming uh skills up students to sufficiently be uh career ready.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: We have uh an outstanding uh automotive uh maintenance and light repair program at two schools, at uh Valley High School and Santa Ana High School.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_02: We have students who um not only have learned the skill sets and understand automobile maintenance and repair, um, and they've gone on to uh take internships at uh different service stations and dealers, uh auto dealers within our region.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_02: And um these students become prepared right out of high school and can go right in uh to working for a dealer who then sees the caliber of our Santa Ana students and says, you know what?
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_02: This student shows up on time, they're reliable, they're respectful, they communicate in writing, uh, they communicate uh verbally very well.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_02: This is somebody that I want on my workforce.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_02: Let me build you up.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_02: Now, these are our high school students that now go to ASE certification that's paid for by their employers, such as uh Fletcher Jones Mercedes Benz of Newport Beach, uh uh you know, Audi Fletcher Jones of Costa Mesa, uh Land Rover Jaguar of Newport Beach.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_02: And then those students come back and they provide mentorship to our students uh in the classroom, our 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think that parents, community members, and um, you know, uh the businesses in um that see Santa Ana as an opportunity, Santa Ana School District as an opportunity to fill their workforce, to fill their needs, is that our students are are ready.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_02: They're they're ready for their workforce.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_02: And um and and college is not always necessary.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_02: We have sometimes a college-going mind as a mandate, but the reality is college is a vehicle for career readiness, there's no doubt.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_02: But there are opportunities for our students in our CTE programs to become workforce ready immediately upon graduation, or at the age of 18.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_02: So uh just, you know, something that I wanted to uh share uh to dispel a misconception that quite often some of our parents and community members have.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_02: Students leave Santa Ana schools career ready.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's incredible.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: No, and like you said, as soon as they're ready to go, it's graduation when they turn 18, they're ready to get out.
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: You've given them the skills they need to go out there and do it.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're preparing them to really get the job.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is Santa Ana also doing anything with the students to prepare them to like navigate the career after their first hire, to keep the job, to learn how to climb the ladder uh once they're in there, once they're you know out in the job they want?
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great question.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the advantage of a CTE teacher who actually comes from industry is that this teacher is not only coming with knowledge, they're coming with a network, with uh oftentimes um a reputation in the industry that allows them to bridge uh students in the classroom with opportunities in the industry.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh, yes, we we have students that, as I share, they come back as mentored for our own students, but our teachers are not only instructors, teachers, faculty, they themselves are mentors.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_02: And quite often uh those teachers are engaged in other opportunities um outside of learning.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so they're uh providing a community service, um, you know, perhaps through foundations because they're known.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I'll give you one example.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we have uh an invaluable partnership with uh High School Inc.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_02: Academies Foundation uh and Valley High School.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um we have an outstanding instructor who uh is is no longer with us because he has endeavored to help uh the incarcerated youth to have a skill set once they leave.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_02: So uh this instructor, impressive uh fella um uh who is a mentor and former teacher, but I would regard him as a co-teacher to our auto staff, Mr.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_02: Saul Garcia, uh, and he he uh provides those opportunities for students from Valley High School uh to get industry connections.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh, you know, I don't want to veer off too far, but really impress on the the value of career technical education, the role of the teacher, not just being the expert in the room, but also being the person who can network and and provide opportunities for students once they have left us uh as seniors.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_02: Um we don't wash our hands of them.
• 31:39
  SPEAKER_02: We very often uh make sure that we keep in touch with our students that want to stay in touch with us in order to be uh ready for the next job, ready for the next opportunity because of the network uh that our teachers have with industry uh uh with industry experts.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_02: And so uh that answers that question.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's great.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like we said earlier, talking about kind of your journey to get where you are, nobody can do it alone, right?
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: So building out that network, getting to know people in the industry that can introduce you to other people in the industry, right?
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: And kind of build out that chain of connections, that's that's really what it takes to keep growing through a career and not just kind of stay in that starting spot.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: That's true.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: What would you want students who are in you know Santa Ana's CTE programs right now, who are maybe going through an automotive program or a medical program, what would you like them to believe about themselves when they're 18 and looking at graduation at the end of the year?
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that's you know, these are great questions, Zach.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_02: And it really aligns with the programming that we do intentionally uh to ensure that students every step of the way are being affirmed or being validated, that they can do what they want to do.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, a great example would be uh a portfolio or an exit interview that quite often our high schools conduct.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_02: We see a lot of our students that once they get to that senior exit interview are sharing about their journey in CTE pathways.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_02: So it's built into programming.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_02: Students know what to expect when they're a freshman, when they're a sophomore, when they're a junior, that they will have an exit interview and they will be able to share what their experience looked like.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_02: So, in doing so, we're intentionally planting the seed with students.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_02: Collect your wins, recognize and celebrate what has gone well.
• 33:34
  SPEAKER_02: Don't look at what was a challenge as a failure or a deficit, but an area that uh you can grow in.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_02: And then talk with us as instructors or as a program of what resources we can provide you so that you can become successful, overcome those challenges or those deficits to be the absolute caliber that I know Santa Ana Unified School District students can be.
• 34:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: You want them to see all the open doors that are open for them and know they can walk through them, but also be aware of anything they need to still work on, not see it as a bad thing, but just something to keep putting effort into.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's a great mindset to leave high school with.
• 34:16
  SPEAKER_02: And not only a mindset for high schoolers and youth, but isn't that the case for all of us?
• 34:21
  SPEAKER_02: And and really what it does is pave the way to prepare you uh really as an adult.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, recognizing that not everything's gonna come easy.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_02: Uh there's there's gonna be challenges.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what are the resources?
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_02: Where do I look around?
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_02: Who do I tap to help me?
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_02: And I think maybe that's the counselor in me uh that that is highlighting this, but nonetheless affirms that no, this is a very relevant um conversation to be having with our students as we prepare them for the world of work to be college and career ready.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that's great.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: So if another school district was looking at building something like what Santa Ana is building, you know, they were looking to model after kind of the great work that you all are doing there, where would they start?
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: Where would be is it, you know, do they start by reaching out to industry and trying to make partnerships?
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: Is it focus groups with students and families?
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: Where do you think?
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, maybe where did Santa Ana start, or with the learning you have since then, where where would be maybe a better place to start if you've learned a little bit since you guys did it yourself?
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_02: So over the past five years that I've been doing work in career education, I think we don't want to conduct uh random acts of education.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_02: I think we want to be intentional.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_02: Love that it and specifically as it relates to educating um our uh our students in in Santa Ana for the workforce, what are the opportunities that students are going to have in the Orange County region for work?
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_02: And making sure to align the pathways of preparation for students with those demands.
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_02: So I partner with uh the California Community College Chancellor's Office, our our uh regional uh community college partners such as Santa Ana College or SAC, uh, and and we'll take a look at what the uh economic uh situation is for our region, what is the supply gap uh for industry in our region?
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_02: They can't fill jobs.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_02: Where what industry is it?
• 36:27
  SPEAKER_02: What pathway is it?
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and then market that to our students, um, market that to our parents again, so our parents back our students up on their uh career education journey.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_02: Um so definitely labor market information is the initial driver.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh from there, it is what you said, Zach.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_02: It's now partnering with business.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_02: It's going to business and saying, look, according to the uh Orange County Center of Excellence labor market indicator report, uh, we recognize that uh you need a skilled workforce.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we have a lot of retirements that are happening.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_02: We have, you know, implications of COVID that is still very much an issue in our region.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_02: So um, how can I work with you, businesses, corporations, industry, uh, to skill up our students so that they are attractive to you and our students can expect uh what you expect uh in the workplace?
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_02: So uh that would be the second.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_02: Um and finally, it would be um working with um our district leadership to understand what the resource demand is uh for providing such career preparation programming.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh what are the the um local control funding formula uh or the local control um you know initiatives that we need to prioritize uh for our region so that our students are career ready?
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_02: And what kind of funds can we leverage?
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_02: What are other funds through uh grants uh that we're able to leverage or um you know business uh investments that can happen in our school district and bring those resources to bear after being formed with labor market uh information and uh business partnership uh information?
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I really do think in terms of that trifecta, those three uh needing to be in place labor market information to be intentional, uh, business partnerships to be willing, and um resources uh by district leadership to prioritize to ensure that career readiness programming uh will do what is necessary for the sustainment of our local economy.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's great.
• 38:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so glad you brought up that last piece around funding and district leadership, buy-in, you know, getting the folks at the top to see the power of these initiatives and these programs.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think superintendents, board members, you know, district leadership should understand about that return on investment that's gonna happen from building out these kinds of programs?
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_02: And that's that's a great question.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_02: I I talk often about um our 21 pathways in Santa Ana Unified School District.
• 39:25
  SPEAKER_02: What is the return on investment?
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_02: Because what we'll recognize is that uh there's there's uh a difference in funding that goes from pathway to pathway.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_02: And that's just based on the needs for uh equipment, materials, uh supplies, consumables, right?
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so what we'll see as as um district leadership or as board members when items come up for approval, such as consulting partnerships, uh purchases that are uh meant to skill students up, to have the advantage, um, is sticker shock, right?
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_02: Recognizing that yes, there's costs and upfront costs that need to go in to ensuring that our students have industry standard, um, excellent experiences and materials so that when they go from the learning context to the workplace, the students are confident, students feel ready sufficiently in order to do this work.
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_02: So I think having conversations with leadership and and and board members, that while we're in a state of declining enrollment, uh while inflation is high, while our economy is unpredictable and somewhat unstable, it is absolutely necessary that we invest our resources intentionally, uh, but appropriately is needed in order to ensure that students are being educated uh sufficiently and college and career ready.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so those are the conversations that I would impress uh that uh directors like myself or influencers on career-ready programming in districts like myself would have with uh their cabinet, uh their superintendent uh or their boards of education.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: Got to keep looking to the future, right?
• 41:22
  SPEAKER_00: Can't let current uncertainty stop us from planning ahead and making sure that we're building what's next.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 41:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then I know we're about out of time here, but it's it's been a really great conversation.
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I have just a few more I want to ask here.
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: How do you balance the innovation and the new programs that you're building with the compliance and some of those realities of public education where you know there's there's rules and regulations that might stop you from innovating at the speed that you want to?
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_02: That's a great question because quite often what we'll recognize is that uh while compliance is necessary for safety and for accountability, uh sometimes it could be perceived as a barrier.
• 42:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I always approach my work with recognizing the barriers, but uh removing the barriers by understanding um, you know, how students can still access the best learning experience uh without compromising either uh their learning, their safety, or even uh the school district.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_02: And so um quite often it's it's it's having conversations about um what the opportunities present uh to the student, um, what is the risk uh versus the benefit uh of our students?
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_02: And so um I think this is something that um a lot of districts have to uh navigate.
• 42:51
  SPEAKER_02: And I I find myself uh talking with colleagues in in local districts and my my partners in Orange Unified School District, Garden Grove Unified School District, and and we look to see um what are case-in-point examples of how you're able to uh you know provide experiences for students despite uh the boundaries that may be there uh for them to operate in.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so we do a lot of sharing, we do a lot of uh collaboration, uh we we work in a consortium regionally to understand what those demands look like uh from a municipal level, from a county level, uh, you know, from a statewide level, and of course a federal level.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_02: So having those conversations with colleagues and understanding uh what what examples have have uh been an advantage or a success for them, um that has been has been helpful.
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_02: So not siloing yourself in your role in your district, uh amongst those uh educators in the world of education.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_02: There's great resources that are out there in the way of colleagues.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_02: And so the other responsibility that we have ethically is ensuring that we're engaging with our partners at the state who create these compliance mandates through the California Department of Education.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_02: On an annual basis, we attend educating for careers in spring.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_02: And this is the opportunity to understand what policy changes are upcoming, what funding opportunities are there, what are the limits, what are the restrictions of those fundings, and how do district uh districts work uh within uh those confinements to create the best opportunities for students.
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_02: So it really is through partnering, collaboration, again, taking yourself outside of uh just your department and just outside of your district to bring in what's best for the students that you serve in your given district.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I think if there's a theme for today's conversation, it's that nobody can do it alone, right?
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_00: We're always looking to bring other people in and have them help.
• 45:10
  SPEAKER_00: And it takes a takes a village, right?
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: It takes a whole community to build these kinds of programs.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 45:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's a fact, yes.
• 45:16
  SPEAKER_00: With that in mind, if there was a business leader listening today, you know, somebody who owns a company or runs a business that wants to help, uh, what would be the best way for them to get involved with their local school district or with Santa Ana if they're somewhere around you guys?
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_00: What do you think is the most valuable kind of contribution?
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_02: Certainly.
• 45:34
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I would I'm glad to share my information and um you know, they could they could reach out to me.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_02: But even if uh an entity were to contact our our general uh office, our our main uh line, and and just say, just say, I'm a business that's interested in partnering with your district to um uh create learning opportunities and internship opportunities for students, uh, that would be an excellent start.
• 46:06
  SPEAKER_02: As I shared before, our our um our superintendent, Dr.
• 46:10
  SPEAKER_02: Lorraine Perez, has three priorities in the district.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um and um that's that's literacy by third grade for our students, and uh English language acquisition and development and reclassification by fifth grade, and then college and career readiness for all of our students.
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_02: So being that we have a few uh focused um priorities for our district, we recognize where any willing partner would be able to fit in with those initiatives.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_02: And so um, given that college and career readiness is is such a top priority, even if somebody were to outreach to our superintendent's office, uh, we would find a way to make those connections and intersect with business that want to give our students the advantage.
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and and and observe the caliber of students, high-quality students, uh, intelligent, brilliant students who are ready for the workforce in Santa Ana Unified School District.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: That's great.
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's so great, Stephen.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much.
• 47:17
  SPEAKER_00: Really, thank you for joining us today and sharing your thoughts.
• 47:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I know I learned a ton about what Santa Ana is doing, and I'm super impressed with the program that you all are building out there.
• 47:27
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you're welcome.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_02: And thank you for sharing uh the the time to you know let us showcase what uh our students can do and and what we're endeavoring for uh in Santa Ana over the upcoming years.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 47:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we'll we'll make sure, uh Stephen, that your contact information will be in the description of the video or of the episode for folks who are watching online.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to reach out to Stephen, please just look in the episode description for that and you should find his contact information there.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: Uh another reminder for everybody watching or listening along uh in the description of this episode, you should find the link to our churn calculator.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's a great tool that you can use to play with some numbers and see what the true cost of churn is for any position in your organization.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we think that internship and apprenticeship is a great way to have folks stay around, right?
• 48:15
  SPEAKER_00: If you get students who are fresh out of high school at 18 and you can show them what a great place it is to work, you can really cut down and lower that churn cost for your own uh organization.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_00: So be sure to tweak all the variables and really play with it to see what it is that you're paying whenever somebody leaves and and doesn't come back, right?
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_00: Uh we just want to thank everybody for being here and for listening.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: We appreciate you uh coming in every month and hearing what folks have to say about the workforce and what's changing out there for our young adults getting into getting into the real world.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: Uh thank you so much, and we'll see you next time on the bridge to tomorrow's talent.