SCS students explore career tech options
Mia Johnson is dead set on becoming a lawyer.
She's a rising ninth-grader in Shelby County Schools, but she's already interned in a district attorney's office in Mississippi.
Her goals have her reconsidering her choice of high school within SCS, thanks to a recent event highlighting career tech options.
Mia attended Snowden for middle school, and she assumed she would attend Central High with most of her classmates. But the career and technical education event, held by SCS at the University of Memphis, now has her leaning toward Hollis F. Price Middle College High on the campus of LeMoyneOwen College.
At that school, she can take dual enrollment classes at the college while still enrolled in high school.
"I could really get a head start on my college courses," Mia said.
SCS this fall is revamping its career and technical education program to the tune of $8 million of investments. The district rebranded to "college, career and technical education," shorted to "C2."
But so far, all the conversations about the course offerings have been held at the district and school board levels. The U of M event was students' first opportunity since the board received funding from the Shelby County Commission this summer to explore their options.
For some, like Mia, it was a chance to reconsider a high school path right before the start of the year Monday.
For others, it was a chance to explore opportunities and understand the logistics of enrolling in each program.
Ashton Shaw, a rising eighth-grader at Maxine Smith STEAM Academy, wasn't sure what "CTE" meant. But walking around the U of M event with his older brother Asa, a 10th-grade student at East T-STEM Academy, he saw a few opportunities that peaked his interest, including classes on entrepreneurship.
"You can own your own company and make as much money as you want," Ashton said.
While the district will offer over a dozen career tracks, no school will have every program. That means students who want to enroll in a program not offered at their school would have to transfer.
There's still time to do that, Terrence Brown, a director of the district's career and technical education program, said. But transfers require spots to be available, and students were able to apply for transfers starting in February.
The district will also not offer transportation to students who enroll in a school other than the one they are zoned to attend.
Brown said one of the goals of the U of M event was to educate parents about the new federal education law, which requires districts to report how many students are ready for college or a career. Increasing access to programs that result in a career certification is part of improving that number, Brown said, but it doesn't have to be a choice between college and a career.
"We really want them to understand we're emphasizing both tracks," he said.
Businesses that partner with SCS on the career programs held demonstrations during the event, from putting an IV in a mannequin to a student who received a haircut on stage. A culinary program cooked snacks for attendees.
Falaisha Hughes, who will be a junior at Southwind High this fall, said the event exposed her to a variety of options for her future career. She's part of a business program at her school, but said it can be hard to finish a certification in high school, and she wouldn't want to change courses now.
"Most of them require too much time to do it during high school," she said of some of the career paths.
Students who are younger, she said, could have more of an opportunity to explore the offerings.
"I definitely think they should take the opportunity now," she said.
Her classmate, Iliya Favell, said some students may be willing to change schools to enroll in a specific career program.
"I would do it if I liked the program," she said.
Mia, who wants to be a lawyer, said she recognizes not all students will have the freedom she has to pick their own school.
"It's hard on children who have less financial ability," she said.
Reach Jennifer Pignolet at jennifer.pignolet@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @JenPignolet.