OUTLOOK News
REACHING NEW HORIZONS
San Joaquin County Students First in State to Join High School Apprenticeship Program
San Joaquin County high school students are the first in the state to take part in the new Apprenticeships Reaching Career Horizons (ARCH) program, a first-of-itskind apprenticeship program for high school students in California. In the ARCH program, students can earn college credit while receiving on-the-job training in paid positions as registered apprentices while still attending high school. Previously, only pre-apprenticeship programs have been available to California high school students. The first six students from three schools took part in a virtual signing ceremony with state and local leaders in November to kick off the new program. “Six brave students from San Joaquin County schools have made history by becoming registered apprentices through this new program,” said Pam Knapp,
San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE) director of College and Career Readiness. “They are paving the way for other high school students across the state who have a new opportunity to earn while they learn and develop onthe-job skills that will help them embark on well-paid careers.” ARCH was created through a California Apprenticeships Initiative Grant from the California Community College Chancellor’s Office awarded to the SJCOE. Other state and local partners essential to the ARCH launch included San Joaquin County WorkNet, San Joaquin Delta College, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, Partnership for Advancing Youth Apprentices (PAYA) with New America, and participating school districts. The first six students came from the SJCOE, Ripon Unified School District,
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and Linden Unified School District. The SJCOE and the school districts all agreed to hire on the students in their respective information technology (IT) departments. “It was a natural fit for us. We have strong CTE (career technical education) pathways at Ripon High School, which we are continuing to develop,” said Ziggy Robeson, superintendent of the Ripon Unified School District, which was first to bring in the student apprentices. Robeson said the district’s IT department has been an integral part of the district’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and that the student apprentices have been part of that response, whether it is fixing Chromebooks used in distance learning or providing tech support to district users. “They’re already living up to my expectations, and I know they are going to exceed them.”