Local school districts point students’ focus toward jobs
Range Resources facilities engineer Phillip Thane discusses the operation of a pressure valve with Bentworth students, from left, Ashton Lopez, Madison Franco and Rylee McVicker. Thane stressed the importance of applying academic principles to job-site situations.
Bentworth students, from left, Noelle Nieves, Jenna Vito and Jacob Davis met with Range Resources manager of scheduling Jerry Moody outside the marketing center at the company’s Southpointe headquarters. Moody explained how employees in the center monitor demand and manage logistics to keep natural gas supply consistent.
A few dozen Bentworth High School students visited Range Resources headquarters at Southpointe recently to get an idea of different jobs available in the energy field.
It’s the district’s latest way to advance career education, bringing kids to companies so they can see firsthand what the jobs are.
Ashton Lopez, a Bentworth junior, watched as a Range production engineer explained how he figured out what was keeping liquids and gas from separating correctly. When it separates, natural gas is supposed to go into a pipeline, while water goes into one tank and condensate goes into another. The Range Resources staff and workers at the site used math and engineering to fix the problem.
Lopez is planning to major in physics in college and said the visit to Range helped him see how what he is learning in science classes applies to the real world.
“I’ve thought about working for an energy company,” Lopez said. “It’s so widespread and energy is always going to be around.”
Bentworth Assistant Superintendent George Lammay said the district is creating more career education opportunities because of coming state requirements.
The state Department of Education has created the Future Ready PA Index, which will become effective in 2018-19. The index will move beyond standardized tests to include how schools are helping students prepare for postgraduation success of all kinds.
Lammay said the state is pushing districts to develop career pathways and to expose students to different occupations. Bentworth is reaching down to the fourth grade to help students think about interests, he said. At the middle school, students are writing resumes and researching careers.
And at the high school, they are taking students to different businesses so they can learn what jobs are available and what training is needed, he said. They will also talk to students about learning soft skills, such as coming to work on time and how to work as a team.
Mark Windle, Range manager of corporate communications, said the company has talked to students in the past about jobs available. But, now the company is taking systemic approach and plans to bring students in the area the its offices on an annual basis. In addition to Bentworth, students from Fort Cherry, Canon-McMillan and Avella have already visited this year.
“It’s a shared investment by the company and the districts,” Windle said, adding Range wants the students to know what work the company does and how they can be a part of it.
Lammay said the focus used to be about getting students ready for standardized tests, so this is a welcome change.
“We’ve got to do a better job of getting students ready for careers,” he said.
Another key is getting parents to understand college is not the only way to success, he said. There are many options – vocational training, technical schools, earning an associate’s degree, going into the military, among others.
“We need to broaden our understanding of postsecondary opportunities,” Lammay said.
West Greene Superintendent Brian Jackson echoed those sentiments.
“We really need to get kids ready for life after high school, whether it is college or the workforce,” he said.
He said district officials have been reaching out to community colleges and universities and are partnering with the career and technology center to help teach skills for careers coming in the area. Jackson said a lot of those are in the oil and gas industry.
Trinity High School Principal Tom Samosky said the board purchased Naviance software last year that helps middle school students take assessments and surveys about their interests. Students also research college courses, technical training and the employment forecast for different careers, he said.
At the high school level, the focus is more centered around academic courses students need to take if they are interested in a specific field, he said.
Trinity also has a variety of people come in to talk to students about everything from the military to financial aid to job shadowing. He said the district organizes job shadowing based on student interest ranging from law firms to HVAC companies.
“It’s a pretty robust plan that’s in line with the discussions at the state level,” he said.
College and career readiness has always been a focus at Peters Township, said spokeswoman Shelly Belcher.
The district starts the process in elementary with Junior Achievement in third grade and career days in fourth through sixth grades. As students move into the middle school, the Junior Achievement program continues along with career chats between students with professionals in a wide range of careers to start exposing students to different opportunities, she said.
In high school, students are encouraged to take Advanced Placement courses to earn college credit and to prepare them for the rigor and expectations of the college level. The district has SAT and ACT exam programs to help students succeed in those important college entrance requirements, she said.
Belcher said partnerships are also a large part of the career initiatives at the high school. Peters has partnered with the National Math Science Initiative to bring support for advanced placement students and teachers and the results have shown improved scores and increased enrollment in the classes, she said.
High school students in science, technology, engineering and math classes are using ANSYS programs to build and test designs of steel structure systems for an earthquake resistant building. ANSYS, an engineering simulation software company founded in Washington County and based at Southpointe, has partnered with universities to bring its program to students at the collegiate level in the past, but this partnership with Peters Township High School is the first of its kind at the secondary level, she said.
She also said the medical mentoring program has been extremely popular with the student body. It places students in the medical field during high school to explore the different careers available. Peters has placements at Washington Hospital, Canonsburg Hospital and many other local health offices, Belcher said.