As course selection season rolls around, freshmen, sophomores and juniors need to consider the graduation requirements they must fulfill. Aragon’s graduating classes starting from 2016 must fulfill a new one—CTE, or Career and Technical Education.
“How I remember which courses they are is ABCDEF: students must have one of the following classes: Art of Video, Biotechnology, Culinary Arts, Digital Photography, Engineering and Technology, or Foods and Nutrition,” says counselor Steve Allekotte.
“We want people to have marketable skills for their career,” says Allekotte. “Ms. Trish is going through the junior transcripts right now to make sure if they haven’t had a [CTE] next year they will have one.”
Foods and Nutrition and Culinary Arts teacher Susan Hontalas is one of the few teachers who only teaches CTE courses. Hontalas also represents Aragon for the curriculum counsel at the District.
“There’s one curriculum council for every discipline in the district. At our meetings we discuss curriculum and implementing Common Core because we’re not an academic class. We also meet with industry people once a year—hotel people and restaurant people—about what’s going on in the industry,” says Hontalas.
Other than Food and Nutrition and Culinary Arts, CTE classes may also include arts classes—some classes count for CTE credits if a student’s Visual Performing Arts (VPA) requirement has already been fulfilled.
Junior Christopher Huang says, “I took both photography 1-2 and 3-4. Fulfilling a CTE requirement is not too hard. Photoshop is a valuable skill, but it did not help me pick a career.”
Unlike some others, Huang isn’t bothered by the CTE requirement. “For me, having a CTE be required will not affect my class choices for next year because I plan on taking a lot of electives and to me CTE is just another elective,” continues Huang.
Although counselors have been explaining new CTE requirements for three years, many students are still not aware of the requirements.
Junior Aris Recidoro says, “I am taking a CTE class right now but I did not know it was required until this year. I don’t like how it’s different from a normal elective.”
While intended to introduce students to new careers, Hontalas maintains that CTE requirements do not seem to help in that regard.
Hontalas says, “There are very few people at Aragon interested in industry. 11 percent of my Culinary Arts kids are interested in industry, whereas in the Central Valley where agriculture is big, there are more industry-based classes.”
Junior Elyse Dixon is not interested in biotechnology even though she’s currently enrolled in the course. “I don’t want to major in biotechnology,” she says. “I’m only taking it because it’s required.”
On the other hand, sophomore Judy Entoma appreciates the diversity of courses offered at Aragon, saying, “Biotechnology is a unique subject that isn’t available in many schools.”
But even Entoma has had scheduling conflicts because of CTE requirements. Entoma says, “I still needed to take a CTE class, and in order to do that I had to give up taking AP Psychology.”
Regardless of the scheduling conflicts and small impression CTE requirements have made on the Aragon student body, they will still be enforced by SMUHSD.
