ABOUT THE SERIES
As students and teachers return to school, The Chronicle takes a deeper look at Career and Technical Education in Springfield, Cottage Grove, Pleasant Hill, and Creswell. This series was made possible in part by donations to The Chronicle Foundation and the Fund for Oregon Rural Journalism (FORJ).
- WEEK 1: TODAY – Area schools and business leaders are investing in CTE.
- WEEK 2: SEPT. 12 – A look at instructors and funding resources.
- WEEK 3: SEPT. 19 – Local businesses help make the programs valuable.
- WEEK 4: SEPT. 26 – Meeting the students participating in the programs.
“I never ask the question now, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I say, ‘What are you interested in pursuing?’” says Amanda Hoggard, her voice full of enthusiasm as she enters her seventh year of teaching.
Hoggard has a front-row seat to those pursuits, thanks to her role as an instructor for two different Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at Creswell High School, which has a student population of more than 350.
CTE “takes learning beyond the classroom and into the community,” according to Marc Siegel, director of communication and public relations at the Oregon Department of Education (ODE). “It develops learners’ technical, academic, and professional skills. CTE engages students and strengthens Oregon’s economy,” Siegel said.
Creswell High School offers multiple programs that fall under the CTE umbrella including Business, Management & Administration, and Early Childhood Education.
Hoggard, who teaches both of these programs, echoes Siegel’s take and promotes professional skill development in her classes. As a result, she and many of her peer teachers across Lane County are seeing more pathways for students, and they agree that not all of them lead to a four-year degree.
That is where CTE comes into play.
The subject matter and training opportunities are as varied as the students who are flocking to them. Exact numbers for every school are difficult to nail down in terms of participation, but at Pleasant Hill, for instance, it’s estimated half of the student population is involved in CTE.
Above, at left, Savannah White, 2024 PHHS graduate, is going to Oregon State University to study Forest Engineering after her time in the Agriculture CTE program and FFA. She was Pleasant Hill’s greenhouse manager for all four years in high school. Above, at right, Katie Dutton, PHHS Senior and President of the Pleasant Hill FFA Chapter poses next to a welding helmet in PHHS Welding and Manufacturing classroom. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
In fact, CTE classes encompass much more than what most people might think of when it comes to vocational classes. There are six primary categories that all manner of courses could fall under:
- Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Systems
- Arts, Information, and Communications
- Business and Management
- Health Sciences
- Human Resources
- Industrial and Engineering Systems
“It really does provide an opportunity for students to explore careers in high school,” said Christy Vough, Pleasant Hill High School Health Sciences CTE Teacher. Vough teaches a variety of Health Science classes that help students choose from career opportunities that include an Emergency Medical Response program, in partnership with the Pleasant Hill/Goshen Fire Department.
With the costs of college increasing each year, high school CTE courses allow students to either explore a career that does not require a four-year degree, or explore a career they are interested in pursuing when attending higher education, educators said.
“It is also the most affordable way to explore career interests,” said Seigel, who was interviewed and responded via email.
The economics of attending a four-year university are daunting for many students and families. Total costs for a University of Oregon student in 2024-25 is estimated at $37,092 for in-state students, and $66,531 for those from out of state, according to UO’s website.
Those estimated costs include big-ticket expenses such as housing and food. The beauty of CTE, educators said, is that high school students are given the tools to make an educated decision on their future by gaining work experience, industry connections, and the opportunity to change their minds before making a significant investment. Siegel said that all CTE programs are “created in partnership with business, industry, and the trades.”
Joanna Holley (left), Dutton and White practice forestry skills in PHHS’s 1.5 acre Arboretum on campus. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
The value of this emphasis on work-related education moved to the fore in 2020, Siegel said, when Oregon adopted work-based learning as a quality indicator of secondary CTE programs. As of this year, Oregon schools have 58% of CTE Concentrators – students who complete at least three courses in a CTE program – experiencing sustained engagement with business/industry partners through work-based learning.
Students at Al Kennedy High School in Cottage Grove prepare for inspecting bee hives as a part of their Natural Resources Systems CTE program. PHOTO PROVIDED
A closer look
There are 16 different CTE programs of study for students in Springfield’s four high schools, including Fine Arts, Computer Programming, Forestry, and Automotive, to name a few. Cottage Grove’s two high schools have 10 programs, and Creswell High School has seven programs. Uniquely, the Bulldogs host two marketplace events each year in an effort to monetize the students’ work in CTE.
Pleasant Hill High School has its Health and Science and the General Agriculture programs, which allows students opportunities ranging from forestry studies to agriculture and agri-business development.
Overall there are 41 CTE programs of study (with programs such as manufacturing repeated at multiple high schools) at the schools in The Chronicle’s primary coverage areas – Springfield, Cottage Grove, Creswell, and Pleasant Hill. While this provides an extensive amount of options for students, it also supports local industries, businesses, and public service organizations.
Whether it is firefighting, construction, mechanics, or health care, area employers say there is no shortage of jobs. Mark Harrington, recruiter and trainer for the apprenticeship program at Chambers Construction, started a program eight years ago when his company saw a need for more people in their workforce.
“In the next 10 years, there’s not a single job in our company that won’t have somebody new doing it. The opportunities are pretty endless for an individual that wants to get involved,” Harrington said.
Both Harrington and Andrew Smith, chief of the Pleasant Hill/Goshen Fire Department, agree that gaining foundational skills in high school can set up students for multiple career paths that need to be filled in their industries.
“We have no shortage of jobs,” Smith says, quickly rattling off different career paths a student could take after their initial firefighting training.
The two industry leaders also said that the need for high school engagement in their areas is a result of the years many schools placed their emphasis on getting students ready only for a four-year degree. “I think high school programs have changed a lot. Finally going back, I think, in the right direction,” Smith said, referring to the growing investment in CTE programs.
Thurston High School’s Metals Manufacturing class room lined with welding stations for students. TATUM STUART / THE CHRONICLE
RiverBend Materials in Eugene is another company that is looking to replenish its workforce. Steve Kaiser, quality control, and Keith Martin, senior manager, at RiverBend Materials said that a lot of people are leaving the materials and landscaping industry for retirement and that a few years ago the average age of an industry driver was 59½ years old.
Kaiser emphasized that the continually growing connections with the schools are helping them and their industry.
“I wouldn’t say just Springfield is a working-class community, but the Eugene-Springfield community,” Scott Touchette, Springfield High School woodshop teacher said. “As much as people like the U of O and all this, there’s a lot of infrastructure here, and there’s a lot of things that can’t be outsourced. People need to do it.”
Touchette has been teaching his program since 2003 and has seen his students choose paths like electrical apprenticeships, construction, and four-year degrees. “We’re moving around, we’re communicating, we’re navigating a facility and that’s unlike any other space in the schools,” he said.
‘Career-connected learning’
One of ODE’s identified outcomes for CTE students is that they have “career-connected learning,” Seigel said. Students must have “opportunities to engage in practical, real-world learning experiences that prepare them for future careers while they are still in school,” he said.
Teachers such as Angela White, Pleasant Hill High School’s Agriculture program leader, who says she makes sure her students are prepared to enter industries well before they have left high school by integrating the FFA opportunities in her CTE agriculture classes.
“I would say Angela did a really great job in all of her classes at helping kids create resumes, practice interviews, writing cover letters, all of those career skills,” said Tressa Geyer, 2024 PHHS graduate and former PHHS FFA president. Geyer was involved in the Business Agriculture program at PHHS and was offered a scholarship at Texas Christian University, where she plans to enter their honors program.
Geyer said that the things learned in CTE classes at PHHS can be directly applied to the competitions in FFA. “And while you’re at those competitions, that’s where you meet industry professionals, and you can meet other kids who are excited about that (competition field),” Geyer said.
Students involved in CTE programs are provided an opportunity to connect with industry partners, explore career paths, build foundational communication and career skills – and also are more likely to graduate. According to Seigel, ODE reports that students in Oregon who take two years of CTE during high school have a graduation rate of 95%. This is why both the State of Oregon and school districts have brought more funding back into these programs in the past decade.
For reference, the 2022-23 general population graduation rate was 81.3% for Oregon high schools.
While CTE programs have demonstrated value to students and the local business community, leaders on both sides said there is room for improvement. A common theme is that more public involvement and support of local CTE programs is needed.
Hoggard encourages the community to reach out if they have “some really cool skills,” she said and she is optimistic and enthusiastic about the future of her CTE programs. “I can’t wait to get back to the classroom this year. I am so excited,” she said.
Students Peyton White (left) and Joanna Holley take a break from their welding class at PHHS. BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
