FARMINGTON -- Farmington High students going through registration the week before school started had a new stop to make.
Clayton Williams, assistant principal with Farmington Career Academies, asked all 10th-12th graders to answer a few questions on a computer to determine their career interests.
"We wanted to find out what career specifically they were interested in," Williams said.
The plan is to match student groups with career mentors and have them meet together six times during the school year to discuss career options, what it's like to work in a particular job, what skills and education are necessary and how to apply and interview for a job.
Williams said the school may not be able to match all students with a professional who is 100 percent in a specific career "but we hope to get it within the ballpark."
Currently, he has about 15 mentors signed up to volunteer for the program. His goal is 25-30 mentors meeting with groups of about 20-25 students. Mentors also will have a teacher available to assist them.
The first mentoring session will be held 8:30-9:30 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 30 and other sessions are scheduled for the remainder of the year.
"We're looking to build continuity over time and build relationships," Williams said.
He hopes the program helps solidify goals students have after graduation.
"We want them to be able to articulate, 'This is what I want to do. This is why. This is what I'm planning to do to get there,'" Williams said.
About half of students from Farmington go to college, but all of them will need a job at some point, Williams said. Employers say they worry less about students having technical skills and more about students knowing how to dress for work, having a strong work ethic and being able to work in a team, Williams said.
The high school staff began working toward a more career-oriented approach to education in 2014 while pursuing designation as a district-conversion charter school, a public school that receives waivers from some state regulations, Williams said. That designation was approved in December 2014.
A career mentoring program will help students make the transition to career academies, Williams said.
"We think this is a good first step toward developing those skills with our students," he said.
Farmington is in the process of moving into a career academies' model where students will be assigned to a specific career academy based on their career interests. This will start next school year but probably will not be finalized until students move into a new high school facility in about two years, Williams said.
Plans for the 2015-16 school year include starting a pathway for students interested in teaching and starting a human body systems class for the school's biomedical program. The school will launch its career mentor groups, establish community and business volunteers and begin preparation to officially unveil the academies.
The timeline for 2016-17 includes unveiling the three academy system, assigning 10th-12th graders to an academy, start the TV production pathway and a medical interventions class, launch nursing and law enforcement classes and explore internships.
Farmington High will have three career academies with the names PRIME, C.O.R.E. and ACE.
PRIME stands for Productive, Innovative, Mechanical, Engineering and will incorporate careers that include agriculture, manufacturing, engineering, computer programming, diesel mechanics and research and development.
C.O.R.E. stands for Career Oriented and Resource Expert and evolved from the Family and Consumer Science Program. It will focus on careers that include service industries, healthcare, law enforcement, social services, education and law.
The third academy, ACE, stands for Arts, Communications and Entrepreneurial and will focus on management, accounting, communications, broadcast journalism, logistics and arts.
In 2017-18, Farmington hopes to open its new high school and will expand its academy model with service projects and possibly look at externships for students.
Farmington High staff is basing much of its career mentoring groups and its career academy model on Mountain Home High School Career Academies. Mountain Home students work with mentors from the business community and many Farmington teachers and administrators have traveled to Mountain Home to observe the school and talk to its staff and students.
Mountain Home students explained in detail what they want to do after high school, the reasons and their plans for achieving their goals.
"That's very impressive," Williams said. "We saw that as a great maturing process."
Williams sent letters to chambers of commerce in Benton and Washington counties about the plans for the mentoring program. He hopes the program will lead to a closer relationship between the school and the business community and will help students understand more about the world outside of school.
General News on 08/26/2015