Vo-Ag education faces challenges

Last week's Nugget profiled four children, ranging in age from eight to 15, all in attendance at Sisters schools. Each lives on farmland and raises livestock. Each talked about how they could benefit if the Sisters School District offered an agribusiness or agriscience curriculum, as every other district in central Oregon does.

The Nugget talked at length about the possibilities of such a program with Sisters Schools Superintendent Curt Scholl. Scholl appreciated the longing for an ag-based curriculum under the umbrella of Career and Technical Education (CTE) which, according to Oregon's Department of Education, embraces education, passion, and curiosity to fuel the future for Oregon students. CTE programs use 21st century technology to support students in acquiring technical skills, professional practices, and academic knowledge critical for career success in high-wage, in-demand careers.

Scholl enumerated the obstacles to providing such programs, chief among them funding.

"In face of the current budget environment and the expectation of significant increases in cost, especially around PERS (retirement) increases, funding any new program will be difficult," he said.

"We may even be looking at cuts," Scholl warned. "And if we move a teacher into a new CTE area, then we risk losing other CTE courses."

He also talked about the roadblocks to finding an adequate teacher, and meeting the certification process. Proponents often point out that within the community there are highly skilled business owners or workers who would volunteer to teach welding for example.

"Yes," Scholl said, "it is possible to have teachers from industry who do not hold teacher certificates, but they still must hold a valid CTE license specific to the course."

The District has a well-established CTE program now covering four areas - culinary arts, flight science, health science, and manufacturing/design/construction with 23 classes for credit. Scholl is a proponent of CTE. Indeed, one of his own children completed culinary arts and works in a gourmet food store in Sisters.

Outside funding

Most CTE is funded by Perkins grants. Each year under the Perkins statute, Congress appropriates approximately $1.4 billion dollars in State formula grant funds under Title I to develop more fully the academic knowledge and technical and employability skills of secondary and postsecondary education students who elect to enroll in career and technical education programs and programs of study.

However, they are used essentially to underwrite and support existing programs, not new ones.

Proponents think that some seed money exists within the local community. There has been vocational agriculture at Sisters High School previously in 2009 and 2010, supported in part by $10,000 raised from area farmers, ranchers, and ag-related businesses.

Photo by Bill Bartlett

Sisters is home to many agricultural operations.

Local and regional grants remain an option. And, some suggest, a possible realignment of existing CTE programs, like woods and the greenhouse project.

Agrarian roots in Sisters Country

Community members who embrace the establishment of vocational agriculture point to the farm to table and organic movement in Sisters. Seed to Table and the Farmers Market are two highly popular initiatives that represent a growing synergy, they say, for strengthening Sisters agricultural heritage.

Kellen Klein, executive director of C4C, speaking for himself and not the organization, talks about the value of vocational ag. 

"I don't have hard data to back my notion, but personally I definitely perceive a need. A good portion of SSD students live on rural lands and farms. Many of them will likely inherit the family business or choose to pursue agriculturally oriented careers. If we want to prevent 'brain drain' and help create local economic opportunities for kids, it makes sense to me to invest in vocational ag education. 

"Plus, vocational ag is about so much more than just 'farming.' Well-designed programs can help develop skills in business, finance, entrepreneurship, engineering, and more. The best job I ever had (aside from my current one, of course!) was working on a ranch in Colorado during college. The maintenance, project management, customer service, and team building skills I learned there have been incredibly applicable to my career and personal life."

A study by Purdue University finds that "ag kids" do better than their peers in standardized and admissions testing. Their ACT scores average 23.5 vs. 20.8 for all other students. Likewise, their SAT scores at 1152 compared to 1068 for non-ag takers.

Passions for vocational ag run deep in Sisters Country. Matt Cyrus, a farmer in Cloverdale, is a perennial appellant to the school board in pursuit of some level of vo-ag. "Basically, there are two tracks for kids in Sisters - McDonald's and college," he says. "We always find money for everything but ag science."

Value of vocational education rises

For years, parents, teachers, and counselors told high school graduates that college was the only certain path to success. But today, college costs have soared requiring substantial private loans. Over 44 million Americans carry $1.7 trillion in student loan debt. This reality has pushed families to view trade school with fresh eyes.

More and more college students graduate with piles of student loan debt - often not finding the job of their dreams. There has also been a persistent shortage of skilled workers driving up wages. Those factors drive a resurgence in vocational education.