This editorial represents the unanimous opinion of all 15 Outlook editors.
Approximately 40% of Aragon students do not go to four-year colleges, according to academic counselor Lea Sanguinetti, instead choosing paths such as community college or going straight into the workforce. One alternate option is growing more popular — trades. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a growing number of people are enrolling in trade school, with construction enrollment increasing by 19.3% and culinary by 12.7% in 2021-2022. Despite the significant number of students who pursue trades, Aragon’s resources are disproportionately focused on those pursuing four-year colleges. The editors of the Aragon Outlook believe that Aragon should better support students entering trades.
Currently, Aragon only offers three Career and Technological Education classes focused on trades: Foods and Nutrition, Culinary Arts and Engineering Technology. While these CTEs help prepare students for later careers in those fields — students in Foods and Nutrition have the opportunity to earn their Food Handlers Certificate, and those in Engineering Technology can learn welding and metalwork — Aragon should offer additional courses to support a wider variety of career paths. For instance, Mills High School, also in the San Mateo Union High School District, currently offers a class in woodworking to teach students carpentry, cabinetry and other construction skills.
Infrastructure, in terms of physical workshops, does play a key role. In the past, Aragon had an auto shop, electronics shop and architectural drafting studio, according to chemistry and physics teacher Kevin Doyle, which were abandoned when then California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cut funding for trades in 2003. However, schools in similar situations have successfully saved their programs. When the woodshop at Sequoia High School was condemned in 2006, the school built a new building and purchased new, industry-standard equipment and launched classes in collaboration with the county Regional Occupation Program.
While constructing a new building at Aragon would be ideal, the cost of doing so and lack of space likely render it unfeasible. Instead, The Outlook suggests dual-purposing existing spaces: for example, using the Technical Theater workshop to also teach woodworking classes. Other CTEs supporting career paths like hairdressers, estheticians, surgical technologists, medical assistants and pharmacy technicians would not need workshop-style spaces, further reducing costs.
To further skirt facility and funding issues, Aragon should also offer more trade-focused dual enrollment courses with the College of San Mateo, as no existing courses are about trade paths. For instance, both Mills and San Mateo high schools currently offer courses on Hospitality and Tourism Management in partnership with Skyline College, in which students can get their ServSafe certification. Aragon should work with CSM to give students opportunities working in fields like cosmetology, as they already have the facilities.
At the same time, Aragon should reform existing CTE courses to teach real world skills. Some courses already have students learn to create résumés, LinkedIn pages and cover letters, but this should become a baseline requirement for all classes to best provide students with real-life skills and prepare them for success in the workforce.
Additionally, students need to be more aware of existing resources at Aragon. While the counseling staff presents information about career paths, they should be made more frequently to all grades and focus more on trades. Career and CTE Coordinator Queenie Hua’s monthly newsletter about job and volunteering opportunities, as well as other informative resources, should also be more widely publicized.
The vast majority of trades-centric resources seem to be made available only to students in Engineering Technology classes. Guest speakers, such as the Trade Introduction Program instructor and program manager, spoke in those classes, and students were able to attend field trips to Local Union 467 Trades/Apprenticeship Training Center in Burlingame and the Tesla manufacturing factory in Fremont. These opportunities should be available to more students, not only those in the Engineering Technology classes.
As more and more students develop an interest in entering the trades, the district and Aragon need to support students, both in terms of additional classes and outside opportunities, in pursuing this pathway.
