Letter to the Editor

Published October 3, 2007

The Sacramento Bee

Steve Wiegand's recent column "Politicos in harmony on tech ed" (9/27/07) pointed out the broad consensus that support Career Technical Education (CTE). CTE has the ability to bring groups together because it works. It's that simple.

California has a 30% drop-out rate, and I've been working since 2001 to get CTE courses in our high schools in order to lower that rate. CTE keeps students engaged, and I know it will dramatically reduce California's drop-out rate. We can no longer afford to take this drop-out rate lightly. Some estimate that up to 50% of Latino and African-American males are dropping out of high school. If we can offer them relevant, interesting classes, we can stop the flood of drop-outs from depriving California of a generation of educated skilled workers.

A student who gets a chance to take CTE courses, as Wiegand points out, can either go to college or start a career after high school. It's not tracking, it's opening doors. CTE gives a leg up to students entering college, while it gives the career-minded student needed skills to jump start life. A drafting course, for example, helps both the future engineering student and the future contractor.

We must require at least one CTE course before high school graduation in order to give every student all the educational options they deserve. We can then say that we’re serious about fulfilling the requirement to prepare students for both college and a career.