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Catucci said COVID is still a factor for students considering a four-year university. “The normal four-year college ‘exper ience’ is not the same experience that it w ould’ve been pre-COVID,” Catucci said.

Finances are also a reason, Catucci added. “With family financial situations changing and students kind of thinking about the return on their investment, some are saying I either need to work to earn more money so I can afford to go to college or there might be a different path that can get me to employment more quickly than a traditional four-year college,” Catu c c i sa i d .

Another reason is students don’t know what field they want to study. “That ’s when families are saying maybe we shouldn’t make this investment for you to go to a four-year school if you ’re not 100% sure what you want to do as a career,” Catucci said.

Mer iden

Barbara Haeffner, assistant superintendent for teaching and innovation for Meriden Public Schools, said students can utilize personal learning experiences to find out what they may be interested in after high school. In personal learning experiences, students design a credit earning course with their advisor. “They can explore different a rea s, ” Haeffner said. “We do provide time for a structured exploration in a learning environment where students can see if they are interested in a career field. Sometimes they explore a learning environment and they say, ‘I’ m not interested.’”

Peter Civitello, Meriden supervisor of data integration and post secondary planning, said at the end of junior year, students have a meeting with their counselor to plan senior year and determine a career path. Every year, Civitello said the district sees about 25% to 30% of graduating seniors lean toward joining the workforce or starting vocational training. “It ’s been a pretty consistent number ... we do have some students that are coming right out of graduation now that are looking more at some of the trades or technical opportunities,” C i v i te l l o sa i d . At both Platt High School and Maloney High School in Meriden, there are career and technical education courses that highlight fields including manufacturing, medical and technology. Cynthia Simone, a nursing teacher in the career and technical education department at Maloney High School, teaches the certified nursing assistant program. Students “can take this course in their junior or senior year,” Simone said. “It ’ s a full-year course and at the end of the year, they can test for certification with the state of Connecticut. The night they pass both components of that test, written and hands-on skills, they’ re put on the Connecticut registry for CNA and they can go out that evening and get a j ob.” Simone said some students continue as a CNA after high school instead of pursuing a college degree. Others utilize their experience and the money they earn to help them attain a college degree. “I don’t see 100% going into the workforce as CNAs, but I see a high percentage, especially with the increase in salary and especially now that the COVID numbers are starting to relax a little bit,” Simone said. “I’m seeing the students move forward out into the workforce.”

Aziz Nazari, 16, a senior at Maloney High School, passed his CNA certification and works at the Village at Kensington Place when he is not in school. Nazari will apply to attend an accelerated physician assistant program after graduation. “I chose to do that not only to get a head start in my career, I want to be a PA,” Nazari said. “A CNA job is more of working with your community than an actual job and so I really felt obligated ... to assist my community anyway I could.”

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Kimberly McLaughlin, college and career counselor at Sheehan High School, said she helps students understand all options after high school. A point School Superintendent Danielle Bellizzi echoed at a recent Board of Education meeting. “We have a career counselor at each of our high schools that does spend a lot of time talking with our students and helping them determine what their interests are and what the things are that they want to pursue after high

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