DISCOVERING THE REAL WORLD OF WORK

Business and education coalition helps students explore future

IT USED TO be that students weren’t asked to think about what they wanted to be until high school. But stu- dents are now encouraged to start thinking about their future careers at a younger age.

And Yuma businesses are invited to help kids explore careers options that might even provide them with a future workforce.

The Yuma chapter of the Arizona Business and Education Coalition is piloting a middle school project aimed at helping students explore their personal interests and learn how they can turn them into future careers -- all while having fun.

This is the second year of the Yuma ABEC Middle School Career Exploration Project, and it’s taking off. “A favorite saying of ours is: ‘We’re flying the plane while build- ing it.’ We went from two schools the first year to seven schools this year. We had to really make some adjustments and accommoda- tions. We’re learning as we go,” said Yuma County School Superintendent Tom Tyree.

The project helps middle-schoolers research and evalu- ate career options and set goals through the development of Education Career Action Plans that will follow them into high school.

As explained by Tyree, the project “provides opportuni- ties for young students to experience hands-on, real-work experiences that are crucial to their future success in developing career goals. Through this exploration, students can begin to understand the importance of their education and relevance to achieving future success in the workforce.”

HOW BUSINESS PARTNERS CAN HELP

The project, however, only works with support from the business community. Business partners can donate teaching time, materials and/or financial support.

“If we didn’t have the partnership businesses, it wouldn’t be successful,” Tyree said. “As the name suggests, the idea is to really partner business and education in the state ... The organization does have a really nice blend of representation of both business and education.”

A favorite saying of ours is: ‘We’re flying the plane while building it.’. We went from two schools the first year to seven schools this year. We had to really make some adjustments and accommodations.

We’re learning as we go.

All businesses are encouraged to participate in any of the nine modules currently offered: agriculture, construction, engineering, public safety, health occupations, management/entrepreneurship, culinary arts, media/digital media production and coding/ robotics.

Experts in these key occupations provide hands-on activities, presentations and mentoring so students can discover career aspirations and see the connection between education and the real world of work.

A Yuma businessman who is deeply involved in the project is Clint Harrington, president at Pilkington Construction Co. He spends time with kids showing them how to build something with their hands, such as garden sheds and planters.

As part of a recent engineering activity, students built a marshmallow shooter and then had to hit the target -- hula hoops at opposite ends.

The activity went beyond building it. Students had to budget the cost of buying the parts and pieces needed to build it. “Popsicle sticks, rubber bands, everything has a price,” Harrington noted.

After finishing the marshmallow shooter and testing it out, students had to analyze what went right, what went wrong and what they should do differently.

“They had to think and do, and then think again,” Harrington said.

After a shooting contest, a winner was chosen. In the case of a tie, whoever built the cheapest shooter wins. So in the end, kids learn that budgeting is important.

For Harrington, it’s more than a tax write-off. “It’s very satisfying. I have a good time going out there and watching them create these,” he said.

That’s part of the point. “Besides the idea of getting students to start thinking about careers and pathways to pursue, there is something else really important. First of all, that learning can be fun,” Tyree said.

He explained that the hands-on projects also make learning relevant to students. For example, they might not see why learning math, such as fractions and geometry, will be useful in their lives. “But when students see how that

math plays into the construction that Clint and the other guys do, they see the relationship and relevance to learning that,” Tyree.

In addition, students who take a real interest in this type of learning do better in standardized tests and go to college at a higher rate.

Currently seven middle and junior schools participate in the program, with each developing the program in different ways. Some students take a class every day during one of the periods. In others, it’s an after-school program with interested students gathering during the day.

The program complements Southwest Technical Education District of Yuma (STEDY) and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and is an early feeder into these high school programs.

If Harrington had been exposed to this type of program, he might have taken a different educational path. “My education was backwards,” Harrington noted, explaining that he went to a university where he earned an engineering degree. He came back to Yuma and, after a four-year apprenticeship, ended up in construction.

He pointed out that there’s nothing wrong with taking the traditional post-secondary education route, but what he likes about this project is that it exposes students to careers they might not initially consider.

“If you’re going to be a doctorate laureate in engineering, it doesn’t hurt to know construction. It makes you better at whatever you’re going to be,” Harrington said.

“We’re not in any way denigrating bachelor’s degrees,” Tyree said, noting that the program still emphasizes the importance of education and training after high school graduation. The jobs exposed to students still require postsecondary training, such as additional courses and apprenticeships.

“Students need to start thinking about these things sooner,” Tyree said.

Participating students take a survey to find out what interests them and what module they might want to pursue. An Education Career Action Plan is developed for each participating student.

“As the name indicates, we’re getting students to think

about what they need to do to pursue (aspirational careers), what education they need, what classes they should be taking,” Tyree explained.

ROOM FOR ALL KINDS OF BUSINESSES

There’s room for any kind of business to participate, Harrington noted. The project could always use financial support to buy materials for the projects, but they also invite members of the business community to donate time, either as a guest speaker or working side-by-side with students in a hands-on activity.

“There are a lot of different ways people can partner, just come in and be a guest speaker. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a construction business or a large company. It can be a first responder as well as the health occupations. There are a lot of great opportunities for kids to learn,” Tyree said.

“Architect, EMT, or whatever, I think there is somewhere where they could participate, and it’s gratifying,” Harrington said.

It helps create a trained, skilled workforce, benefiting all of the businesses and enterprises in Yuma County. “And we want (students) to stay here also,” Tyree added.

While business partners can help with materials and tools, funding comes from Northern Arizona University GEARUP grants and a recent grant of $25,000 from the Arizona Community Foundation of Yuma.

The Yuma chapter is standing out in Arizona. “We have become the real show pony in the state. We’re taking it far beyond what other school districts have done,” Tyree said.

But there’s still work to be done. The leadership team continues to try to improve the program, Tyree said. They are working on providing more curriculum to teachers, including daily activities or lessons.

They are also trying to get the program to a sustainable point. “We’re looking for dedicated support and funding going forward,” he said.

The state ABEC was founded in 2002 after voters passed Proposition 301, a ballot initiative which put more money into Arizona’s public K-12 classrooms. Many of those same business and education leaders who came together to support Prop 301 founded ABEC.

“We have become the real show pony in the state. We’re taking it far beyond what other school districts have done.”

– Tom Tyree

Today, supporters of the nonprofit, non-partisan organization include school districts, higher education institutions, business and education associations, small and large corporations, philanthropic and community organizations, state government agencies, and individual community leaders.

The Yuma chapter is always looking for local businesses who would like to volunteer and partner with ABEC. For more information, contact Tyree at ttyree@atscc.com or 928-373-1006 visit www. YumaABEC.com.

Arizona Business and Education Coalition

Arizona Community Foundation

Arizona Western College

Arizona Department of Education

Arizona Public Service

Center for the Future of Arizona

Crane School District

1st Bank Yuma

MGM Design

McCarthy Construction

Pilkington Construction

Southwest Technical Education District of Yuma

University of Arizona

Yuma Elementary School District

Yuma County Chamber of Commerce

Yuma County Department of Information Technology

Yuma County Economic Development Council

Yuma County School Superintendent’s Office

Yuma Police and Fire Department

Yuma Regional Medical Center

Yuma Union High School District

Leo Pilkington (left), with Pilkington Construction Company, demonstrates how to use a circular saw and cut a piece of framing lumber as Fourth Avenue Junior High School students Franesco Arviso (center) and Rene Rocha look on.

Pilkington Construction Company’s Clint Harrington (left) helps Fourth Avenue Junior High School student Vicente Ortiz drive a nail into a piece of framing lumber.

Fourth Avenue Junior High School students Gabriella Minard (left) and Karina Jackson measure and mark a piece of framing lumber during an ABEC (Arizona Business and Education Coalition) session at the school. The students are in the process of building a wooden shed, under the guidance of contractors McCarthy Building Companies, Pilkington Construction Company and Rock Fire Systems. Yuma County Schools Superintendent Tom Tyree, “is leading the charge for bringing ABEC to Yuma,” said McCarthy’s John Kovesdy. “Right now construction and culinary are the only platforms going.”

McCarthy Building Companies’ John Kovesdy (right) talks with Fourth Avenue Junior High School students while Sergio Galindo (left), with Rock Fire Systems, and Pilkington Construction Company’s Clint Harrington (second from left) and Leo Pilkington listen prior to the start of the project.

Pilkington Construction Company’s Leo Pilkington (left) and Clint Harrington (second from right), and McCarthy Building Companies’ John Kovesdy (far right) show two Fourth Avenue Junior High School students how to use a circular saw while cutting framing lumber.

Sergio Galindo (left), with Rock Fire Systems, helps Fourth Avenue Junior High School students measure framing lumber.

(Loaned photo) A Yuma student in the Arizona Business and Education Coalition researches the occupation of software developer on an iPad. The Yuma chapter is piloting a middle school project aimed at helping students explore their personal interests and learn how they can turn them into future careers.

(Loaned photo). A Gila Vista Junior High School staff member demonstrates the raised bed flower garden project at the school. Kids designed and built the flower beds with help from Arizona Business and Education Coalition construction trade partners.

(Loaned photo). Equipment and tools await Gila Vista Junior High School students who want to learn about the construction industry as part of the Yuma ABEC Middle School Career Exploration Project pilot program. This is the second year of the program, and the Yuma chapter is seeking business partners to mentor students and present hands-on learning experiences.