Local schools spotlight career education
Lincoln Technical Academy, Lodi Adult School to host first open house this month
Although Lincoln Technical Academy and Lodi Adult School have had many career fairs for current students since they opened their doors in Lodi in 1997, they have never had an open house for potential future students.
That will change on Jan. 23, when the two schools host their inaugural open house at their shared campus to give students a chance to explore the various opportunities the schools offer to high-schoolers and adults, according to Mark Troutner, Lincoln Tech’s vice principal.
“The reason for the open house is because we borrow all of our students from the local high schools. We want students who are going to enroll in classes for the 2018--19 school year to come out and see what we do,” Troutner said.
Guests will get to tour the classrooms where current students will demonstrate what they have learned, according to principal Julie Jacobsen.
She anticipates between 15 and 20 occupations to be represented, including fire science, administration of justice, culinary arts and dental assisting. She also invited representatives from Lodi’s agriculture industry as well as hospitality occupations.
“It’s an event to really showcase what we do here and what students learn in their classrooms to prepare them for the workforce, whether they’re high school students or adults,” Jacobsen said.
Juniors and seniors from Lodi’s high schools can take one two-hour career technical education (CTE) class each day at Lincoln Tech throughout the year to prepare them for careers they wish to pursue after graduating. The classes are also available to adult students, which Troutner said provides a unique learning opportunity for youth and adults alike.
“One thing about the majority of our CTE programs is that we can offer them to adults as well, because we’re our own site. It’s like a college environment, which is phenomenal because the adults and high-school students can learn from each other,” Troutner said.
Cheri Evans, a registered dental assistant, teaches the dental assisting class, where adult students like Cassandra Jacobs and Claire Stoker learn skills such as fluoride treatments. Playing the role of a dental assistant, Jacobs placed foam trays containing a fluoride solution onto Stoker’s upper and lower jaws before inserting a saliva ejector hose into her mouth to catch any moisture.
“The fluoride protects from cavities and takes about four minutes to complete. The patient can’t eat food, drink water or rinse for 30 minutes after the treatment,” Jacobs said.
Although many students go on to pursue careers that they studied, some learn that they would be more comfortable in different occupations, he said, such as some fire science students who decided to become EMTs after learning that they were afraid of heights, Troutner said.
Lincoln Tech also partners with local businesses to help its graduates find jobs in hospitals, private medical practices, the Lodi Police Department and Lodi Fire Department and dentists’ offices, Jacobsen explained.
“Mrs. Evans has a list of students who’ve left her program that became dental assistants. She has another list of students who became dental hygienists, and seven students who eventually became dentists, all because their interest was sparked in her class,” Troutner said.
“Businesses came to us and said that they have a need for employees, and we train students to become employees. That’s why the partnership exists, to fill that need,” Jacobsen said.