The Lucia Mar Unified School District has received $5.8 million to expand the facilities that house its vocational programs at Arroyo Grande High School.

The Career Technical Education Grant money - which the district must match - will be used for the construction of a new state-of-the-art complex. It will house vocational courses ranging from standard offerings such as automotive technology to harder-to-find-classes including animal science and even floral design.

The project is in the planning stage, and construction on the complex will not begin until a year from now, said Principal Ryan Pinkerton.

The district is also waiting for word on whether it was approved for a

$3 million grant to build a permanent home for its Culinary Arts Academy, which will open in the fall in a spare kitchen on the Arroyo Grande campus.

In recent years, Lucia Mar officials have focused much of their attention on increasing vocational training opportunities for students, with the board of trustees even making that one of its goals for the school year.

“It gives them a start. It gives them options, a taste of what it's like working in the industry,” said Loren Bradbury, an automotive technology instructor at Arroyo Grande High. “A lot of the kids we get are very career oriented. They want to know what's out there. They want options, and (vocational training) gives them options.”

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There were 610,856 students statewide enrolled in vocational education courses for the 2006-07 academic year, the most recent year for which statistics are available, according to the California Department of Education.

That same year, there were 1,706 Lucia Mar and 6,559 San Luis Obispo County students enrolled in vocational courses, the CDE said.

To meet the growing demand for vocational education, in July the district applied for a Career Technical Education Grant from the state, and this month received word of the $5.8 million award.

In February, Lucia Mar applied for $3 million more during the second phase of the CTE grant process for the Culinary Arts Academy, and officials said they expect to find out within the next six months whether the district will receive the money.

For now, Lucia Mar officials say they are happy the district was chosen to receive the first grant, because Arroyo Grande High's vocational facilities have not had a major overhaul since the school was built in the 1950s.

On the other hand, Nipomo High School's facilities are still relatively new, because the school is only 6 years old.

Both campuses offer the same vocational courses, with the exception of the Culinary Arts Academy, although Nipomo students will have the option to take culinary courses at Arroyo Grande.

“We're very excited,” Souza said. “The teachers and students are very fortunate that they were awarded this grant.”

Plans for Arroyo Grande's vocational education complex - which will be built along an access road adjacent to Valley Road - feature offices, meeting rooms, a special library, agricultural-biology and agricultural-economics classrooms, and a large warehouse-like room for agricultural mechanics, where students can work on welding and robotics projects.

There also will be a greenhouse, and the automotive-technology space will be expanded so students can work on cars indoors so their projects can progress regardless of the weather.

Each of the school's vocational programs will received a boost from the grant, but agriculture is the program that stands to benefit the most.

Students who enroll in courses within this program often go into careers ranging from raising cattle to becoming veterinarians.

“There's a lot of rewards, and even if you don't want to go into agriculture, you'll still be able to use what this department gives to you ... It's a well-balanced program,” said junior Morgan Dewar, who hopes to go to a four-year university and study business or agricultural communications.

Program Director Steve DeRose said students come away with a vital appreciation for agriculture.

“(Agriculture) is one of the most valuable industries in California, and yet probably the least known,” DeRose said.

If the next generation does not work to protect its interests, the industry could take a severe hit, which could, in turn, affect the entire world economy, he added.

Last week at Arroyo Grande High, Connie Sparks' floral design class was outside, busily transplanting succulents into larger pots in preparation for the Central Coast Greenhouse Growers Association's Saturday open house.

The students sold the thornless, cactus-like plants to raise money for the school's agriculture department. Nipomo's agriculture students also took part in the sale.

“I'm a succulent person,” Sparks said with a laugh, going on to explain that the plants are excellent learning tools because they are easy to grow and cross-breed.

In addition to succulents, the floral design students have grown several varieties of tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower.

They have also designed and sold corsages for Winter Formal, and holiday flower arrangements for Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter.

For students such as junior Carlin Doty, vocational programs can serve as a way to help them stay motivated towards a career goal.

Doty is enrolled in the automotive-technology program at Arroyo Grande, and leaves campus every day to attend his internship at Mullahey Ford.

He said he's loved cars since sixth grade, when his grandfather gave him a 1960 Chrysler.

Automotive repair “is what I want to do after high school,” Carlin said. “When I got into high school, I started taking the auto-mechanics classes.”

Carlin said the program has helped him on his way towards his ultimate career goals.

“It gets you really prepared,” he said.

April 10, 2008