Howard County is planning to scrap traditional vocational-technical education in favor of a program that would give students the academic foundation they will need in their careers -- without the hands-on training they now get.
The students would take such courses as algebra and chemistry while in high school and would rely on private industry or %J technical colleges to train them in the specifics of auto mechanics, cosmetology or other fields.
The new approach is part of what the county calls its "Technology Education Magnet Program," scheduled to begin in the 1996-1997 school year when River Hill High School and a new eastern high school open.
The plan, still being fine-tuned, would replace the existing 600-student Howard School of Technology. That school would be renovated and turned into a laboratory where students could see demonstrations of the skills they will need in different fields.
The latest version of the plan will be presented to the county Board of Education Tuesday. The board still can change the plan.
School officials say the new program will give local businesses a more direct role in training the work force and give students a NTC broad survey of possible careers, along with the academic skills industry demands.
"The program needs to reflect the careers that are going to be out there, and we know careers come and go," said Richard Weisenhoff, curriculum coordinator in the school system's technology education office.
The plan calls for students in the technology magnet program to choose between two paths -- the workplace or four-year universities and community colleges.
Virtually all students in the program would take what are now considered college-preparatory courses, such as algebra, geometry, physics and chemistry.
They also would pick among five general career fields: biotechnology; communications; human services; construction and manufacturing; and energy, power and transportation.
No longer would the school provide the technical training to make a student an auto mechanic, for example.
That training would be replaced by a broad survey of the #F student's chosen career.
Students interested in car repair would learn, for example, about managing a car dealership, arranging leases and dealing with auto parts manufacturers. Culinary arts students would learn about running a restaurant or managing a hotel or resort area.
Instead of spending time in a shop or lab at the school, students would enroll in a "practicum" during their junior and senior years. They would spend part of each school day or week at a private workplace where the employer would teach them about the business and provide some on-the-job training.
By the end of the program, school officials say, students would have a well-rounded view of a future career, though they might end up with less practical training than that provided by the current vocational-technical program.
"The shift is away from jobs to careers and to providing a challenging academic program for all students," said Daniel Jett, the county's high school director. "The training for people entering work is the same for students going into college."
Howard County began rethinking its vocational-technical program after a series of national reports concluded that students must have basic English, math and other skills whether they're entering the work world or college.
The county's efforts are part of a national trend, according to Lynne Gilli, branch chief for the state education department's career and technology services.
"What they're doing is increasing expectations for all students," she said. "It's a move away from occupation skill-specific training."
The county's plan has the support of some in the business community, including Kevin Bell, president of Winn-Kelly Chevrolet in Clarksville.
"This is a significantly better way," said Mr. Bell. "It shows what they're learning in the school and how it's applied in the workplace."
The automotive field involves more than oil changes and lube jobs, he said. It also includes writing estimates, running the auto parts counter, dealing with manufacturers and writing the detailed, technical diagnosis of a car's problem.
"You are not in a school environment going to teach students everything," Mr. Bell said. The aim should be to give the student a base on which to build, "so he has an exposure to how a computer system works, how an anti-lock brake system works, so he's not afraid of it."
But the proposal worries parents such as Debbie Ross, whose 16-year-old, learning-disabled son is in the physician assistant program and is not academically inclined.
"Probably for the first time in his academic career, he's feeling really, really comfortable with the career goal he's pursuing," said Mrs. Ross, who is on the technology magnet planning committee.
She worries that special education students, a population for whom vocational training has been useful, will be left out of the new program. She said the higher-level prerequisite classes seem aimed at more advanced students.
"It was sounding like, more and more, someone was trying to introduce more of a magnet gifted and talented program," she said. The program also must have a place for a person who "for whatever the reason, leaves high school and has to look for a job with some marketable skills," she said.
School officials insist that the program would be open to everyone, but that students would still have to meet the program prerequisites.
"It's the school's responsibility to reach out and to support the students in the achievement of the prerequisites," said Mr. Jett, the high school director.
Some School of Technology teachers are looking forward to the changes, including electronics teacher Robert Sharp, who expects his classes to be popular.
"Everything has electronics now adays -- cars, toys, computers," he said. "Almost every field is going to require the electronics."
And he says that students who have taken algebra and geometry will be able to learn electronics at a more advanced pace. He said that he now must teach basic math to many students before he can teach them electronics.
"We should have moved 10 years ago to work with math and science teachers," he said. "It's long overdue."
Reaction from School of Technology students was mixed.
Justin Dorsey, 17, who is studying auto body repair, said he worries that students won't get as much shop experience as he's getting now. He attends auto body shop class half a day and is learning the basics of body work and welding.
"I don't like it," he said of the new program. "They're not going to get as much experience."
But Bryan Gibbs, a 17-year-old Howard High School senior studying electronics, said the new program would better prepare students for the work world. He said requiring students to take prerequisite courses is a good idea.
"We came in here and we had to do a lot of math, and some of it was confusing," he said.