At least in Long Beach, CA, students who may not want to attend a four-year college need not flip burgers after graduation. Instead they can learn a trade while still in high school.
This year marked the first semester of the Middle College/High School Trades and Vocational Tech Program, a joint venture between Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and Long Beach City College (LBCC). Sixty-five juniors — half of whom are females — were recruited from local high schools last fall and began attending classes at LBCC in January. During the spring semester, the students were exposed to 12 trades, including hvacr, sheet metal, construction, welding, machine tool/CNC, and aviation maintenance.