The expansion of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at Hockinson High School is in the hands of voters next month as a Job Readiness Education Building is a key feature to the Hockinson Bond 2025.
The proposed CTE building at Hockinson High School would provide a new hands-on space for students exploring job-readiness skills in classes such as wood tech, construction skills and others, the district website states. Matching funds and in-kind donations have been offered by Douglas Green, an entrepreneurial lecturer and CTE advocate from Vancouver, to support the building project, the website adds.
“This is my fourth year as a principal, so I’m the building principal, but I’m also the CTE director in the district, and one of the things that has been a big goal for me is to fulfill kind of the promise that was made to the community about having a robust CTE program, ” Hockinson High School Principal Tim Fox said. “One of the things that I recognized early on was how much room we had to grow in terms of fulfilling that promise. We didn’t have very many kids involved in CTE, at least on campus. We have a lot of kids going up to Cascadia.”
The Cascadia Technical Academy in Vancouver, with other locations for select programs, is a cooperative CTE learning experience partnered with 10 school districts in southwest Washington. Fox believes expanding the offerings at the Hockinson High School campus will get more students interested in job-readiness skill classes, if not for a career, then perhaps to learn skills for around the home and hobbies.
“Right now we have a lot of students who are hungry for these opportunities,” Fox said. “Maybe they’re not looking to go into trades, but like I’ve said, it’s so important that they get these experiences. We offer a lot already. There’s so much more that we can do, and again this is only going to help fulfill that promise, right?”
The high school currently offers a series of business and computer science classes, stagecraft — the prop and set work for theater productions — and a new architecture program, among others. The architecture program highlights the partnership between schools and the direct industry, Fox said, adding that he would like to strengthen those relationships by expanding the on-campus opportunities.
“So, strengthening those partnerships is important to us, and it just opens up doors for our kids, you know, and so that’s kind of the goal with this is making sure that our kids have access to space,” Fox said. “Right now we’re tapped out, like we cannot add anymore. We’re having to use other classrooms to house some of our CTE programs. You’re not getting that real feel, like our architecture class is in a French class. So it’s like we just don’t have the space to do all that we want to do.”
Fox added that a new building, both funded by the bond and donations, will open up the opportunity to expand and provide real-feel classrooms. As well, the curriculum in CTE programs puts students at an industry standard so they can step in and grow in a career field, he said.
“It’s certainly not a cosmetic upgrade, right? This is a real need that can fulfill the needs of our community,” Fox said.
Hockinson High School has nearly 700 students in total, Fox said. Of those students, the interest for career-ready skills is highlighted with roughly 780 enrollments in CTE classes between both semesters this year as some students are taking two to three CTE classes each semester.
“So even though the number, you’re like, ‘wait, how can that be?’ It’s because some kids take more than one class but also because we’re looking at the overall numbers,” Fox said. “And that has increased dramatically since I’ve gotten here, and like I said, that has been my goal is to make it a serious pathway for kids right here on our campus where they don’t have to go anywhere else, you know, and we’ve got some pretty awesome kids that do great things, and our goal again is to just expand those opportunities.”
In addition to the CTE building, the bond funds will be used to build a new K-5 elementary school; a rebuild and remodel of Hockinson Heights Elementary School and connected campus and safety upgrade; a safety upgrade at Hockinson High School; replacement track and multi-use turf field installation at the high school; and a middle school outdoor play area and safety upgrades. The bond, slated for the Feb. 11 special election, if approved, will collect $87.75 million across the maximum of 21 years. The previously approved bond will decrease this year and will be paid off by 2035, the district’s website states. With existing bond debt, the district website states that taxpayers will pay approximately $2.03 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The estimated additional cost per month for a $750,000 home would be $42.50, the district states.
For more information, the school district is offering a bond informational meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, at Hockinson High School and a bond open house at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Hockinson High School library.
To learn more, visit hocksd.org/bond2025.