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Highlands Today

Students Tout Career Academy

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By MARC VALERO

Highlands Today

Published: October 9, 2008

AVON PARK - Small classes with dedicated teachers and motivated students with clear career goals - it sounds like the ideal learning situation and also describes the Career Academy at South Florida Community College.

School Board of Highlands County officials toured the academic program Tuesday, which started this school year and is designed to educate high school students for specific technical careers.

Jerica Cooper, a senior from Sebring High, wants to be a medical assistant. She's in the career academy's medical secretary program.

"Medical secretary has a lot of the classes I needed to be a medical assistant so it's a perfect program for me," she said.

Her studies are going well.

"It sounds like it would be hard - you mix your high school classes with tech classes, but they make it so easy," Cooper said. "They spread things out perfect."

After retiring with the School Board of Highlands County, Dewayne Lemler waited a year and then started teaching again at the vocational school in Haines City. Now he's the academy's math teacher.

"I enjoy working with kids," he said. The academy is trying to prepare students, who don't plan to attend a four-year college, to be qualified for a good paying career after high school.

Sebring High senior at the Career Academy Timmothy Bamu moved to Highlands County during the summer from Sarasota.

After attending Sarasota Military Academy, which has small classes, he saw that small classes would not be in the offering at Sebring High with 1,700 students.

So he chose to attend the career academy and study automotive service technology.

"So far everything has been great," he told the school officials. "The teachers have been great.

"I've had teachers in the past who really didn't care about the students. All the teachers here actually care about the students."
Avon Park high sophomore Angel Gonzalez wants to be a computer network security specialist.

"This opportunity that I have this year with this program has changed my life in so many ways now," he said. "I would recommend this program to anyone. This is a unique opportunity here at the career academy.

"The best part of all - it's free."

The goal of everybody is to see this program grow, said Doug Thoburn, school district coordinator of career and technical education. "I would certainly hope to see us be at 100 to 120 strong next year."

Student recruitment is necessary to increase enrollment and then the college needs to find the seats to place the students in, he said.

School Board Member Wally Randall said "the main thing I see here is the motivation factor - the kids are motivated to learn. Now they are getting a glimpse of what the future holds."

School Board Member Donna Howerton said, "I'm very excited in the enthusiasm in the students and seeing that students have a hope in their futures."

Howerton also noted the students' improved grade point averages and the very good attendance numbers.

The career academy at the SFCC Avon Park campus features an eight-period day.

Half the day is spent in the academic center operated by the school district's faculty and administration, and half the day is dedicated to the selected technical program.

Going into the program the students' average grade point average was 2.42, but during the career academy's first nine-week progress report the average GPA was 3.3.

During the first five weeks, with 63 students, an average of only 1.2 students were absent per day.

The program has 21 seniors, 27 juniors and 15 sophomores.

The programs and enrollments are: computer networking (7), computer electronics (8), automotive service technology (7), automotive collision repair (4), heating, air conditioning technology (2), drafting (5), medical secretary (19), secretarial/administrative assistant (2) and food management and production (9).

Marc Valero can be reached at 386-5826 or mvalero@highlandstoday.com

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