by Eve Schlegel ‘20

MCPS schools relentlessly push the idea that the next step is college. Counselors instruct students to set up Naviance as early as 8th grade to prepare for applying to college once their senior year rolls around. Some may find academics are not for them. Planning life after high school can be stressful for any teen, but putting various career-related programs into high school can help students find a passion or pathway to take.

Edison is a vocational school in MCPS that offers a few different options for students. There are the Automotive, Construction, Human and Consumer Sources, and the Career Readiness Education Academy (CREA) clusters. Each of these clusters offer opportunities to learn about varying industries, such as carpentry, plumbing, cybersecurity, cosmetology, auto body repair, or child development. 

Sherwood does offer quite a few programs. Some include the Academy of Health Professions, Engineering: Project Lead the Way, Early Childhood Development, and Television Production. But the problem is most of these programs require going to college to actually get a career in.

MCPS has an enrollment of over 50,000 high school students, so it is unproportional for only one school to provide technical programs for that many students. More hands-on students stuck with academic classes might feel less motivation to come to school if they do not have more interactive classes. Mixing academics with these vocational programs may lead students to become more engaged in their other classes and improve their academic skills.

A solution could be to assign more high schools a specific vocational focus or two. Then MCPS could provide transportation for other students in the county that want to study that subject. Lets say Sherwood starts a cybersecurity program. Then a student from Wheaton interested in that subject could spend the first half of their day focusing on academics at Wheaton, and then take a bus or their own transportation to Sherwood to spend the other half learning cybersecurity. 

What many teens fail to realize is that one does not need to go to college to get a sustaining career. Technical schools provide the needed skills that go with high-demand careers, such as becoming an electrician, plumber, HVAC technician, dental hygienist, radiation therapist, IT specialist and so much more. Starting at the high school level to explore these possible options is a necessary step.

High school is the time to experiment with interests. When a student is studying their registration card as they pick classes for the next year, having the opportunity to choose classes in these vocational programs pushes them to discover what is out there. How does MCPS expect all students to find their passion by taking the same math, english, history, and science classes? What if their passion lies elsewhere? They can’t expect every student to feel fulfilled from the same required classes.  

The stigma of college being the only ticket to success needs to end. MCPS can expand teen’s horizons by putting vocational programs into more schools. Starting in MCPS may cause more counties to do the same thing. It would open up more opportunities for students to find interests that they could shape into future careers.