Rich Talk with the Richardson Chamber
Rich Talk with the Richardson Chamber
RISD begins trades career readiness academy
We sat down with Sari McCoy and Creighton Bryan to talk about how RISD has taken on the trades and technical fields in preparing students for careers where they'll be ready to work or continue college as soon as they graduate. Find out what they're doing and how you can partner in their efforts.
Welcome to the rich talk podcast. This is Amy Alexander and I'm the director of marketing for the chamber. And I'm sitting here with Creighton, Brian and seri McCoy from RIS D. and we're going to be talking about their new efforts to incorporate a trade Academy portion. What are the trade academies and what are, what are you doing in Richardson?
Speaker 2:So we have a very rich history of a career and technical education department in Richardson ISD. And what that is is if you remember Amy, remember vocational ed shop and home-ec classes that we had so many years ago. Well that has transcended and to career and technical education, which focuses on all industries, not just a carpentry, woodworking or a culinary or anything like that. So we've expanded significantly across our country and the pendulum has swung. And so we now recognize that we have to prepare the next generation workforce. And so in Richardson ISD, if students are interested in going straight into the workforce or go to college to get to the world of work or through civic service, the military, they're prepared to do so. So what we're focusing on is really making sure students have relevant real world knowledge and technical skill attainment while they're with us. And we also build the capacity for that social emotional piece, those soft skills, employability skills that are so crucial. We want students to be able to gain employment and sustain employment. And for many years, educators were preparing like K through 12 preparing students for the next step, which was maybe college. Sure. When we brought in the business industry partner, now you have a three legged stool and now it's intentional and it's meaningful because now we know where they're going for that world of work. And we're really excited about that. And I can just tell you just to start this off, just to say thank you to the chamber because the chamber is one of the most fantastic connectors or liaison between education and business. You really kind of bring us to the room together and that's fantastic.
Speaker 1:Well, I knew we had like a focus group or two. Um, before I know we hear it for our member businesses, how much they're having a hard time getting your plumbers and your carpentry and electrical electrical services. Is that, um, so I mean, one of my underlying questions is, is how do you know this is a real thing? Do you have any stats? I know we have country nationwide, some stats. I wasn't sure if we had anything.
Speaker 3:We use our regional workforce data and to help drive the decisions that we make. We use interlink and a couple of companies also to get data. The chamber provides us a lot of that data works with those companies. At the same time, uh, we have had multiple meetings that have involved regional businesses. A lot of those driven by the chamber of multiple times. We met with different construction trades, uh, everything from to roofers to Xi rockers, people laying the tile, uh, in our homes and businesses and really got a lot of input from the people around the Richardson area of what they needed. Uh, where was our, uh, skills gaps were our, uh, hiring gaps that we needed to fill. And, uh, we use that data and to help drive the decisions that we make and the programs that we run to make sure that, uh, our students can graduate and, and find jobs or continue their education, uh, at the college level, the construction and education and business and gaming and all pathways that we have run through a career exploration, but they're all new to our P tech, uh, where we've gone through and attentionally align these pathways to workforce needs in a combination with dual credit, uh, at the same time to give these kids a, a jumpstart into future careers or jumpstart into their college pathway of their choice. We do hit engineering, I would say more on the mechanical side of things, but we have a computer science side of things that will hit a lot of their computer engineering side along with the manufacturing, uh, pathway too. So we try to hit multiple pathways alongside there. And, and you mentioned a little bit about manufacturing engineering and manufacturing, NTI. We're working with these businesses hand-in-hand, grading partnerships and seeing what do you need, how can we meet your needs in engineering and how can we meet your needs in manufacturing? And we're trying to prepare our pathways and work with these students to, uh, make sure our students are prepared for what they need. Let it be, like I said, coming straight out of high school or four year college and then, uh, to meet the gaps that these individual companies right here in Richardson have.
Speaker 2:[inaudible] I'm gonna start that over. I really feel like it's important for our community and our business businesses to know that we are preparing the next generation workforce to sustain the future of Texas. And really specifically the work that we're doing. It changes our students' lives, their families lives, and our community lives. There is a statistic that says that 65% of graduates come back to work in their area where they grew up, even if they went off to college and came back. And so if that is the case, we are your pipeline and we want to partner with you. So it's meaningful to not just the student, but also to our community to be counseled in an eye. And I said, what do you mean? Because we don't want to saturate the market with students or now workers who have skills that they don't have jobs for. So that intentionality kind of meets the needs. And so we are able to ask the questions directly in those industries because of the relationships we've built through the chamber and other avenues. But I can tell you in healthcare in 2016 over 65,000 eligible nursing school candidates were turned away from nursing school because of a lack of capacity and training space. And so in the high school level, if we are preparing them for that career, then we're a part of that solution. Well, I know I've read articles
Speaker 1:about how so much of these trade kind of, uh, professions were more, um, they're aging out. Like a lot of our people are hitting those older ages and it's just not, it seems to be attractive maybe for the younger generations. How are you managing to attract younger people to these professions?
Speaker 2:I can tell you that in manufacturing we need probably a hundred to 150,000 people entering into the workforce and that industry a year and we don't have it. Yeah. That would be a quarter of that entering into the workforce
Speaker 1:nationally. What is attractive for them and do we have the students to kind of fill that need around in Richardson? I think a lot of times
Speaker 3:it's changing the perception, uh, to the students of what things are, uh, our industries have evolved over the years. I think a lot of times we look back at manufacturing and we think of a, it was a baby boomer generation and what did they, what did the manufacturing line used to look like? It used to be a dirty line where people were working really hard, sweating on the lines and things. Things have changed since then. Technology has changed things tremendously and those jobs have a different look and a different feel to them. Manufacturing looks more like engineering today than it used to in the past of construction or contractors that things look different today than they have in the past. And I think really educating the students to what this looks like now and providing those work based learning experiences where we can get them out on the job site, uh, where we can share experience with them, let them know that they can make a living wage from this, that they can start in companies and move up and uh, really sell I think is really helping us change the way that they look at these different professions.
Speaker 1:Are you having to do like an advertising campaign to kind of say, or is there like an exploratory function where they can take it to her and see if they, does it look good suddenly your army recruiters
Speaker 2:are something a little bit of both actually. So we do have marketing strategies just to really make sure that we increase the awareness of students and failings in our community about the opportunities. And we briefly talked earlier about our career and technology pathways in all industry clusters. So you might be on an engineering pathway and you might earn some certificates and go straight into the workforce and get started working in making completely a livable wage. Or it might be in preparation for you to go to MIT and obtain your engineering degree. We have something for everyone. So when we say all means all we truly mean all means all. And that can be in our criminal justice pathway. You might be preparing to go out and immediately go to work as a police officer or you might be preparing for with legal studies to be an attorney. All means all. So we want to prepare you for the world of work and that knowledge, the skill and that soft skill ability. We want you to gain employment and sustained employment when you leave us, regardless of the industry you're in. And that marketing piece has to be very intentional that we really explain it. And often students can't be what they can't see, so we have to expose them to it. So this is the second part to your question. We do start in the elementary level of that inspiration and then engagement and exposure so that they can have an idea of all the different options that are out there. Sometimes they only know what their family's always done. And until we actually provide them the ability to explore and engage with real world professionals in different venues, different industries, then they can really start to dream big well. And we use, um, we use different events. Like I dream a world, I just utilize the chamber and we utilize, uh, the city of Richardson. We utilize our business partners, we utilize D triple CD and really take those kids and the seventh graders in this case, uh, all the way across the district and really, uh, expose them to multiple careers in group choices and different events throughout the day and utilize other companies too, like junior achievement and tech Titans. You really get our students aware of what engineering fields we have in or what fields in business we have in. Uh, we're right in the middle of a reverse job shadow day right now downstairs. And kids are getting a good view of different, uh, areas in the business fields. Exactly. And thankfully the chamber has a committee, like the education Mark pointed at me and I am proud to sit on that committee. Perfect. So being able to communicate, you know, with those representatives. And being able to share what we're doing, learn from them what their needs are and being able to kind of use that as a platform to launch marketing or information shout outs or anything like that. So imagine if you were sitting across the desk from a candidate who's interviewing right for your front office position and that student handed you a file folder and you open it up and you see a transcript and a resume. You look over the transcript, congratulations, you are responsible, you completed the high school and you got your diploma. That's excellent. And you say, well tell me your favorite classes. And I said, Oh, British lit and chemistry, that doesn't really help you is an office position. And then you look at the resume and chances are it's pretty much blank. They might've done some volunteer work and in their families business or office or something like that. At that point it's a shot in the dark about what type of employee you're hiring. But let's take it into a different scenario. Imagine you sit across from a Richardson student who's gone through a business pathway and their industry expert teachers have said they have mastered these skills and then you're certified and Microsoft office specialist and word and Excel and PowerPoint. That's a whole nother interview. It's a whole nother conversation. If you were to look at that and say, well your teacher says in your portfolio that you've mastered the communication skills in writing and verbal communication. Explain that to me. Give me an example of that. Totally different interview. He said, and I'll tell you I didn't go to school in Richardson so sometimes I fall down on my understanding of how y'all work. Um, is there any, cause I think the trade academies is at one
Speaker 1:high school. Was there at some point that we started busing people around or how does it go? Like if you show an interest in a particular trade, do you go to a particular high school? So actually we have
Speaker 2:print technology, education pathways at every high school campus and then we have a healthcare career Academy that serves all four high schools. So they are busted that location, which is the method's Richardson hospital on Kimbo road. Sure. And then we have what's called college and career ready school models. So Texas has four frameworks that fall underneath that. That's our T STEM designation that we have at Burtner high school. We have a Wildcat Academy like Highlands high school and MSA Academy at Pierce high school. And each of those counties focus on different pathways and different pieces. And so some of them are business, some are construction, some are manufacturing, some are criminal justice. And so depending on what the focus is for that framework, for that college or career framework or Academy, if you will, um, students are able to explore through that. Got it.
Speaker 1:So where, um, what is the new piece of this as far as the trades go and like what was the process? I think you just started this year, right? Previously, but this is our first year in our first cohort for P tech and JJ Pearson, Lake Highlands high school. Through those pathways,
Speaker 3:we're kicking off manufacturing, we're kicking off business, we're kicking off a gaming and animation pathway. Uh, we're kicking off criminal justice education and then we're kicking off our construction pathway that we were alluding to.
Speaker 2:Yeah. About how large is that group?
Speaker 3:Uh, we have about 70 students currently at like Highlands high school and we have about 35 students. If you're in high school, well, I don't have to tell you to, I mean we're recruiting these students as eighth graders and we're trying to that and we're trying really hard intentionally to expose them to different pathways in the junior high and even down at the elementary schools. So they understand what these, what these careers are. And I had a student that come up to me last year when we were enrolling him and that he knew exactly what he wanted to be. And he goes, I want to be a contractor. He goes, I don't want to work behind a desk. I know this is what I wanted to do. And he had moved over from a private school back into Richardson ISD just solely to be in this program because he knew that's, that is what he wanted. So, and had another one that through our construction careers Academy, he was a senior last year in the preexisting pathway we had for a construction and a jumped on with a business that's partnered with us in P tech, uh, through an apprenticeship program that, uh, is starting this year, making good money in a three year apprenticeship program. At the end of that three years, he's going to be one of their general contractors. So a lot of opportunities for these kids, businesses booming in the DFW area. Uh, you see they're building everywhere. They're doing construction everywhere and they can't hire enough people, enough good people. And uh, it gives them the desire to come and work with us and to put some time, put some effort into these kids and to
Speaker 2:start building that relationship at a young age. And it's, we're really starting to see some of that stuff pay off. Um, I do feel like there's a turn away from people thinking, Oh, college is a must have. Um, and yet there are some people who are still out there saying, Oh, that's the only way you can make good solid money is with college. And is there, um, is there a thought or a perspective on each of these, like this is viable for percentage of your population in the college? JLR I mean, especially with college getting so expensive, it is very expensive. That's true. But I think what we need to recognize is that it's not an an or I think career and college preparation is what we're offering our students. We're going to connect them to their future college prepares them for the world of work. High school is now preparing them for the world of work and if they choose to go to that world of work right after high school and maybe progressing their education later on down the road through a two year college or a four year college, they're prepared to do so. So it's really an and instead of an or focus, and that's a kind of a mindset shift I think for our whole nation over the past decade or so. But I know that we have, for example, we have certifications that our students can get. Um, and welding programs across the state. And especially down in the South Texas area, you can weld underwater. So it's kind of a Marine type focus. You can do it for six months and you make six figures. Wow. I mean, that's incredible. So it's sustainable if you wanted to pursue a career pathway and go straight into the workforce and then you can continue your education later on if you would like, where are, you can go straight into a two year or four year college and you're well prepared, ready to go. We want to connect all of our students to their future and that's why having strong businesses, partners is so important to us so that we can meet their needs, that they're current, that our teachers are relevant, that you know, that they stay up to date. I promise. I mean, you do not want me to teach you what I learned in nursing school back in the early nineties. It's irrelevant now. And so having these relationships is critical and it's for all students are intentional and meaningful and our plans and our opportunities that we provide kids for all of them, not just some of them short. And that's great. What are y'all doing that's more outstanding than either neighboring schools or other high schools in Texas? I was going to say what would be great to talk about this for sure. Our health science program is a cut above the rest. And so I think our intentionality sets us apart because we are focused on students having the advantage. So when they graduate from high school, they are steps ahead of other graduates in the area. And that's through our relationships with our business partner. And that's the community being a strong piece of that. It's making sure that they have early access to college, that industry relevant certifications that they gain. Um, and we provide all of that college, you know, credit for free and the textbooks are for free and the certifications are for free. So we're giving them this huge boost. And then I think beyond that we are building that social emotional capacity that we talked about. And that's not always everyone's perspective. Um, again, we hire for hard skills and fire for their soft yes. And so I haven't done my job well if I didn't prepare you to be a team player, a problem based participant, team, player, thinker, being able to be solutions oriented, communicate well, take responsibility for your actions, good or bad, you know, that's on us to establish that, build that capacity in our student. How can an AR, um, businesses and, and you might kind of talk through some options, whether you're a large business or a small business. How can we get involved and help you guys more?
Speaker 3:There's a place for everybody. I want to start by saying that, um, we have opportunities across the board. Uh, Dr. Stone, uh, held the partners for all luncheon where we brought in a lot of the neighboring businesses in to make sure that we were very intentional about finding touch points and mentors for all students across the board to make sure that these students, uh, like were exposed to the world of work, uh, from day one. And we have multiple areas across multiple clusters that we need opportunities to do to do this. Uh, we concentrate on work based learning in every pathway. Uh, and we start that, uh, with exposure to the students. They come in and they say, um, they guest speak, they talk to the kids a little bit about what that looks like. And we take students out to the work sites and the job sites and we let the students see what does it look like if I was in this field or what does a day in the life of an engineer look like? What does a day in the life of a manufacturer look like? What does a day in the life of a nurse look like? So where they start to kind of grow in that. So they can see the opportunities that lie in front of them, they get knowledge about the job, then we're giving them exposure to what it looks like. And then we're looking at those internship opportunities. We want these students to uh, understand what it's like to be in the field. And we want these students to be able to jump right in and help out and start to build those relationships with those businesses. A lot of them leading to jobs,
Speaker 2:there's opportunities all around. Sure, sure. And as Creighton said, Dr. Stone did have that partners for all luncheon and the vision is that we connect a student to a partner so that they have a plan upon graduation. So as our seniors walk across the stage and they earn a diploma, they can also say, my business partner is so-and-so. And that's such a powerful piece to be able to make that connection to their future. Earlier you talked about, um, curriculum development and our business partners have a strong voice and guiding that cause we don't want to offer, let's say a college level math class. If it's the math that the employees need to know in the manufacturing or an engineering firm, we want to make sure that we're relevant. So beyond that guest speaking, all the work based learning pieces Craig mentioned are critical. We do mentorships with students, especially when they get into their junior, senior years. We also have opportunities for students to work kind of on a capstone project in conjunction with a company, so maybe you know, Tia or state farm is working on a project and they gave our students a piece of it and we were able to work on it with them and they received the feedback from the organization. Just that collaborative piece is just so critical and then also in externships for our teachers so that they are able to maybe spend a week in the summer at that firm or organization on the factory floor, wherever it may be, to make sure that their skills are taught and their knowledge is tops so that they're relevant in the classroom. There are so many different ways that business partners can be involved as little or as much as they choose. We have advisory boards that they can serve on but I want, so um, so much for all of our community businesses to know is that they have a voice. I think often businesses feel like legislators make a decision and it comes back to the districts and the district can make a decision and then businesses kind of get what they get and that's not the case any longer. So they have a voice. So don't be afraid to be engaged. And if you're not sure how you want to be engaged, we will have a spot for you. And just like great inset. There's a place for everyone. Is there an easy place where I can say go to this website and this is how you get in vape gauged you can on the Richardson ISD website, it's rifd.org we have a link for partners for all and we have examples of why that you can be engaged with the district. And then also we have a career in technical education department and my name and Creighton's names on there and we'd be happy to talk with you.
Speaker 3:I think it's good. We have, we have a passion for career technical education and we love it. And, uh, we're here to make sure that these students have a path and they have an opportunity and, and our business partners is, is the way to that path. Um, I'm gonna step back to, in my teaching career a little bit. Um, I felt like I was, um, doing a great job at getting students prepared for it, but didn't, I lacked that, uh, intentionality of having business partners and having pathways for my students had a lot of students that didn't go to college. Some did, some didn't. And I look back now and I looked at with intentionality what we're doing with our business partners and I wish I had that 10 years ago when I was teaching, um, because my students would, uh, be as specific places working, making more money, uh, having a, a better opportunities for themselves that I could have helped guide them and not find it themselves. I see us doing that in Richardson ISD, um, with every student in every pathway and being, like I said, very intentional about it. And I think that's what makes us, and I think that is good across every cluster what we're doing and perfect. Well, I think that's enough of our time. Thank you so much guys. I'm excited about what you're doing and wish you best of luck and hopefully we'll have a lot more business support coming because of this. Thanks. Thanks so much.