Career and Technology education programs provide students with opportunities to gain real world experience while continuing a high school education. The Culinary Arts students provide an example of how students in the district can get a jump start on careers they want to pursue. The state should support career and technology education classes with the same enthusiasm that they express for traditional academic achievement. 

Students from both Canyon and Randall High Schools enrolled in Culinary Arts served lunch at the Power of the Purse fundraiser featuring Jenna Bush Hager at the Amarillo Civic Center last week and have been asked to serve at three more events, including the Centennial Banquet at WTAMU. Opportunities such as these allow students to gain valuable experience they would otherwise not receive in a classroom setting.

Canyon and Randall journalism students covered the event, attending a press conference and interviewing community leaders. These student journalists interviewed local business owners, Amarillo’s mayor and a President’s daughter. This is experience difficult to gain sitting in a desk in a brick building.

Students enrolled in career and technology classes gain first-hand experience valued by potential employers. Caterers at the Power of the Purse event said they plan on hiring some of the students from the Culinary Arts program. Cattle Call owner Colby Monroe said that the students who come out and work hard stand out as potential employees.

Job competition is fiercer than ever because of the increased number of people with college degrees and the recent slump in the economy. Businesses hire only the most experienced workers because the time spent on training is a waste of their resources.

Academic classes are important but knowledge gained there is best utilized when partnered with the real-life experience. It is vital for students to focus on their futures, and now is the best time for any student to begin gaining practical experience through career and technology classes.