PC reaches out to middle school students

Local middle school students got a first-hand look last week at what college might be like as Porterville College’s Career and Technical Education program visited several local schools to talk to students about college.

“One of our goals is to give students enough information to make them want to make positive choices during middle school, high school, college and beyond by discussing how education can open doors for them in the future,” said CTE Program Manager Diane Thompson. “Our CTE Educational Advisors Vanessa Salas and Jonathan Schultz do a great job promoting college awareness and creating the belief that college is a possibility for each and every student.”

On Wednesday, the CTE team visited Rockford School where the advisors and students discussed future careers and what kind of schooling they will need to land their dream jobs.

The sixth- and seventh-grade students learned how to get a jump start preparing for their careers by attending Porterville Unified School District’s Pathways Program and Porterville College programs.

PC’s CTE educational advisors will continue making several visits through the current semester throughout Porterville and the surrounding communities.

“We have scheduled outreach events at 14 school sites this semester,” Thompson said. “We do not exclude any school within our service area. However, due to time constraints, if we don’t reach a school this semester we will contact them next time.”

PC career and technical education programs provide students with opportunities to obtain an education that reflects the needs of the community and anticipates changes in demands in business and industry.

Students completing CTE programs at Porterville College are in high demand in the job market, Thompson said.

Porterville College’s CTE offerings include: Accounting, Administration of Justice, Business, Business Administration, Child Development, Emergency Medical Technician, Entrepreneurship, Fire Tech, Fire Academy, Health Careers, Information Systems, Industrial Tech and Wildland Firefighter.

For more information on Porterville College’s Career and Technical Education program call 791-2282.