Changes to the traditional funding model for County Offices
Finding sustainable funding for Career and Technical education programs in the wake of the local control funding formula (LCFF) recent changes As a former ROP Business and Graphics/Animation teacher, I am deeply committed to ROP/CTE experiences for our students! As a product of both 4-h and FFA club leadership (with many years spent at county fairs and parliamentary procedure tournaments as well as youth leadership camps), I am a HUGE fan of these types of programs. Many of my former students shared with me that my class was the reason they had decided to come to school for the day. I completely understand how important and life-changing these opportunities can be for students. I think that there are untapped opportunities waiting for our students and that the business community IS willing to help, but they simply haven't been invited to the conversation lately. In a perfect world I envision career-tech classes starting in the middle school grades, and that students not only get hands-on job training, but that they are also supported in the teaching of the soft skills that are also necessary for today's 21st century worker. Students also need access to practical business skills such as financial awareness, checking account operations, comparing loans and interest rates, etc. ROP/CTE classes are the perfect blend of these types of training + hands-on and soft-skills.
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