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Focusing beyond graduation Mail Tribune photos / Bob Pennell Phoenix High School students Andrew Ledergerber Cliff Baxter, Floron McGee, Shanti Rasmussen and Chris Schneider (from left) work on a project for their photo-video class. Next fall, freshmen at Phoenix and other Oregon high schools will begin taking classes in one of six areas of interest designed to prepare them for the work world. Students interested in a career in video, for example, would follow an arts and communication curriculum. A new program this fall will launch high school freshmen down a career path, which thrills some and worries others. Then there's the cost. By DAMIAN MANN Freshmen entering high school this fall might finally find an answer to the age-old question, "What do you want to do when you grow up?" This batch of students will be the first to enter the Certificate of Advanced Mastery - or CAM - program, which, in theory, should set every high school graduate on a career path. If the program works as planned, students should be able to leave high school and be well on their way to having the skills needed to walk into a job. But the program also comes with a heavy price tag for local districts, which are struggling to meet an unfunded state mandate at the same time they're cutting staff and programs. Educators also point out the state has yet to finish planning for the program, leaving districts to figure out the details on their own. Even with those problems, Jackson County educators hope the CAM will give more meaning to the classes that students take, since many, including English and mathematics, will be tailored to individual courses of study. "The most important thing is that students make the connection between what they're doing in high school and what they're going to do in life," said Phoenix High School business teacher Melinda McLure. Phil Long, curriculum director for the Medford School District, believes CAM students will be able to respond to the question: "What do you want to do when you grow up?" However, some parents worry that students might be pigeonholed into career paths and not be able to change their minds later. "Sometimes kids do well on a test and might not be the least bit interested in the subject," said Medford resident Debbie Eastwold, whose daughter will be a freshman next year. She has mixed feelings about the program's value and said some teachers have asked, "Are we just doing it because it's the in thing, or are we doing it because it's a good thing to do?" Setting up the program - still under construction by the Oregon Department of Education - will be a major undertaking for local schools because they are being asked to do it without any extra funding. "CAM's got some great potential, but it's going to strain the system," said Tim Mobley, curriculum director for the Phoenix-Talent School District. But he does believe it should help students develop more interest in school. "I think they will find more meaning in the classes they do take," he said. Also, educators cite the senior year as a "lost year" in which many students lose interest in school. They believe this program will stimulate students by showing them the relevance of courses to their life goals. To avoid straining its system, the Central Point School District might have to undertake a class- by-class audit to delete nonessential elements. But Curriculum Director Doug Jantzi said this isn't necessarily a bad thing. "It does give us a chance to look at every class we have and look at the value of the class and see if it serves our kids." Schools will also augment the CIM, or certificate of initial mastery, program in the next three years, testing for arts, a second language and, finally, social science and health. The addition of these CIM elements, plus the CAM and other programs envisioned by the state, will increase the financial burden on schools, which have been forced to trim staff and other programs for fall because of a countywide school shortfall of about $7 million.Jody Streetman, president of the Eagle Point Education Association, wonders how her district will be able to afford this new program when it can't even buy the materials to prepare students for the CIM tests. Streetman supports the concept of the CAM but is dubious about a program that is not properly funded. "It's like going into the dentist with an abscess and coming out with no teeth," she said. Like it or not, the state is requiring schools to develop a CAM program. But, because the state hasn't clearly specified a particular plan, schools have been busy developing their own programs with the understanding that things might change. The program will signal a major change for freshmen, who will spend their first year determining their focus area of study and their last year applying these interests, particularly to senior projects. "By not knowing what the state is going to require, we could be going down the wrong road," said Mobley. But he and other administrators believe they should generally be on the right track. Both Medford and Phoenix-Talent will make senior projects a major focus in measuring student progress. Jantzi said Crater High School students will not have a senior project as the capstone of the CAM program. "That's like putting all your eggs in one basket," he said. Instead, Jantzi, who was one of the original architects of the CAM program with the Oregon Department of Education, said students will undertake smaller projects to show their expertise in an area of study. Despite their differences, these administrators believe their CAM programs will give students a greater sense of relevance in the classes they do take. "This will be a big step toward goal-oriented education," Long said. He believes it will give many students - even those who are college-bound - a career to fall back on or at least give them more direction in life. Long said the goals of the CAM program will extend beyond college, providing students with the skills needed to perform in a job situation. But he said the idea is not to pigeonhole students or force them into a career path. "We need to make it something we don't do to kids but with kids," he said. "CAM is not a life sentence." Long argues that school systems have tended to place students in academic boxes, while the CAM offers more options. "They can see it as an exciting program that gives a sense of vision or hope." Citing author Eric Hoffer, Jantzi said, "We ask kids not to waste their time, but we allow them to waste their lives." He said the program is often criticized because of the belief it will create worker bees. But Jantzi believes many students graduate from high school without any decision about their life goal. "The only bad decision is no decision at all," he said. Jantzi and other educators say students can change their area of interest during the four years at high school. They also believe that even if the students don't continue on with a career in their field of study, they will still learn about setting goals. "It will get kids to look beyond their senior year," said Mobley. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.