Area eighth-graders learn about careers at ACJVS

By ELLEN KOLMAN - Staff Writer - ekolman@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

October 01, 2008 07:38 pm

— JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP — Zach Gaul, an eighth-grader at Jefferson Area Local Schools, stepped off the bus with his classmates onto the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School (ACJVS) campus Wednesday afternoon to learn about career-training.
“I really liked the CNET (computer, networking and electronic technology) class, especially the electrical experiments when the kids got shocked,” Gaul said.
ACJVS, located at 1565 Route 167, has been hosting eighth-graders all week from area school districts, including Ashtabula, Buckeye, Conneaut, Geneva, Grand Valley, Howland, Jefferson, Ledgemont and Pymatuning, said Kay Roller, ACJVS career education coordinator.
“This is part of our career exploration program,” Roller said. “First, we go into the schools and begin to expose students about future career goals. This week, we have a whole team to coordinate the visits. We break up the students into groups of 10 to 15, and then they tour five of our 22 available programs.”
Megan Chabot, a junior from Conneaut in the ACJVS Graphic Communications Program, served as one of the student ambassadors and tour guide for a group of students.
“I am very happy with my choice to study graphic communications here at the ACJVS. The program has helped build my design ability, and my instructor, Mrs. Pratt, is amazing,” Chabot said. “I am excited about helping the eighth-graders learn more about the vo-ed.”
It is a common myth that students who graduate from ACJVS do not go on to college when, in fact, not only do student often go onto college, but also many of them can earn college credit in three of the programs, including the tech-prep programs: computer information systems (CIS); computers, networking and electronic technology; design drafting; and Teacher Academy, Roller said.
“This gives the students a view of what they will learn in the programs and the jobs they may be able to get after graduation,” she said.
Any high school sophomore or junior is eligible to attend ACJVS if he or she has 12 credits and has passed his or her classes.
“Some of our students have told me attending the ACJVS saved their life, that this was the best choice they could have made for their future,” Roller said.

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