SCOE’s Career Development/Workforce Preparation department brings students, teachers, and employers together to strengthen and develop the relationship between what’s being taught in the classroom and its application in the workplace.

The department offers Career Technical Education (CTE) courses for high school students through its Regional Occupational Program, supports the development of high school career pathways across Sonoma County, facilitates the countywide Work Ready Certification program, assists schools with vocational counseling and job placement services, enhances career exploration efforts in middle school, and connects schools to local workforce development efforts.

News & Announcements

Step-Up Classes earn rave reviews from students
During the spring and summer, over 300 middle school students had the opportunity to participate in 16 Career Technical Education (CTE) Step-Up Classes at local high schools. Based on student evaluations, they clearly had great experiences!

Step-Up Classes are free 8- to 16-hour mini-courses taught by high school CTE teachers. The classes offer students an opportunity for a hands-on experience in a career pathway of interest, help with the transition from middle school to high school, and provide an excellent recruiting opportunity for high school programs.

Students took courses in welding and metal fabrication, animation and computer design, biotechnology, child development, construction technology, culinary arts, and digital video. When asked to rate their overall satisfaction with the courses on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest, students gave the courses a combined rating of 4.79. Even more impressive, 97% of the students said they would participate in the class again and/or recommend it to others.

Since a major objective of the courses is to assist students in making decisions about which courses to take in high school, students were also asked whether their participation in the class would help them in making a decision about what pathway/elective courses they would take in high school. An overwhelming 91% of students replied “yes” to this question.

SCOE receives new middle school CTE grant
SCOE has been named one of 13 recipients of a Middle Grades Career Technical Education (CTE) grant awarded by the California Department of Education. The $145,000 grant will allow Sonoma County to expand and improve existing career awareness and exploration efforts, provide hands-on CTE experiences, and further institutionalize career development commitments in local middle schools. The hands-on CTE experiences supported by the grant will encourage students to think about their future, allow them to explore a variety of career paths, and produce more successful transitions from middle school to high school and beyond. Learn more... (pdf)

Sonoma County grant focuses on college completion
and career readiness of young adults
Sonoma County has been named one of four counties in the United States to participate in the Forum for Youth Investment’s Ready by 21, Credentialed by 26 Challenge. This program promotes county efforts to effectively support the transition of youth to adulthood. The goal is to encourage more young people to obtain the educational credentials that have labor market value and can lead to economic independence by age 26. Sonoma County was selected for the grant based on the strong coalition of community partners already working together under the umbrella of the Sonoma County Career Development System Initiative. Learn more...

Kuder Navigator usage tops 12,500
Over the past two years, 12,648 students from 36 Sonoma County middle schools, high schools, and community-based organizations have created online career and academic planning accounts on the Kuder Navigator system. After a successful pilot of the Kuder system in 15 schools during the 2008-09 school year, SCOE provided accounts to interested schools in order to create a common platform for post-secondary and career exploration, as well as long-range academic and career planning.The system’s features include:

• Interest, skills, and work values assessments
• Detailed information on over 1,500 occupations
• Database of over 7,000 post-secondary education and training institutions
• Information on over 15,000 financial aid/scholarship opportunities
• Educational planning templates
• A built-in electronic portfolio that allows users to create resumes, cover letters, and sample job applications
• An administrative database that includes reporting and messaging capabilities and lesson plans to use in conjunction with the system

To learn more about the Kuder Navigator system, contact SCOE Career Development Specialist Dan Blake at (707) 524-2780 or dblake@scoe.org.