The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

It's a good time for proponents of vocational education at Sisters High School (SHS).

Earlier this fall, The Roundhouse Foundation announced it will give $250,000 over five years to fund programs ranging from welding to diesel mechanics and computer-aided design and technology.

Last week, Oregon voters approved by a wide margin a ballot measure that will inject an estimated $300 million into the state's public high schools, for dropout prevention along with career and college readiness programs.

At the same time, interest in career technical education (CTE) is growing fast among SHS students, a CTE teacher at the school says.

"We're starting to see an explosion in our CTE program," Heather Johnson, who teaches the EMS/fire class, told Sisters School Board members during the Wednesday, November 2 board meeting.

About 55 SHS students are involved in CTE courses, which offer college credit while giving valuable experience in volunteer roles. Sedona Baer, a 2015 Sisters High graduate, was one of those students during her high school days.

Now Baer, who wants to become a paramedic, is continuing her education through a Central Oregon Community College program in which she's an EMS resident volunteer at Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire Department Station 701.

Baer said the CTE program is what made going to high school in Sisters different from attending other Central Oregon high schools.

"I credit so much of where I am to this program," she said. "It sets students up for success."

Now a freshman at COCC, Baer spends a couple of days at the fire station each week. Station 701 paramedic Pat Burke said Baer and other young people who've served as resident volunteers are valuable assets.

"They run calls with us," Burke said. "They're a critical component of our day-to-day operation and our ability to serve our community."

The program gives young participants with career aspirations a better chance of being hired for salaried fire department jobs, Burke noted. And competition is fierce. In the past two years, there have been only three employment opportunities at Station 701 - and 110 applicant for those spots.

Johnson, the SHS instructor, said St. Charles Medical Center has provided internship opportunities for Sisters students in a variety of career areas. Students in Johnson's EMS class get to work with equipment such as a mannequin worth $100,000 that simulates the delivery of a baby.

That mannequin is owned by St. Charles Medical Center, but is available for student use. Sisters High School has its own set of equipment, much of it purchased with federal Perkins Fund money paid to school districts for every student who earns CTE certification.

"This year, my hope is that 25 to 30 students will have CTE certificates," Johnson said.

EMS/fire and other career-oriented programs provide a world that students otherwise wouldn't know about, she added.

Lydia Newton, a junior at SHS, is among the students who surprised themselves by discovering new interests through CTE. She enrolled in Johnson's EMS/fire class because of a desire to become a paramedic - and learned the fire segment of the course attracted her as well.

"It has definitely grown my appreciation for medicine," Newton said.

Triston Coe, a SHS junior, has had a job-shadow experience at the fire department, and has been an animal caregiver at Sisters Veterinary Clinic for the past three years. He gives animals injections, including insulin, and sometimes helps them swallow medication pills.

Coe began the veterinary stint after his own dog passed away and he missed being with animals. He called veterinary medicine "detective work" because the patients can't describe their ailments.

The medical/health CTE pathway Johnson described to the school board includes eight separate courses and certifications. Besides EMS/fire, they include emergency care, sports medicine, health occupations with St. Charles Medical Center rotations, and others.

"It keeps kids engaged and keeps them in school," Johnson said. "It's a selling point for our district to have programs as robust at these."

School board members agreed, expressing support for the career education now being offered at the school, including internship opportunities.

"It's an incredible confidence-builder for kids this age," said board vice chair Amanda Clark. "These kids are going into their community and making a contribution."