Eleven Riverside Brookfield High School students took classes at Triton College this year that earned them college credit while they explored a potential career path.
Three enrolled in the criminal justice program, five took welding and three students took classes in the certified nursing assistant program.
Next year, students will have more options to do this after the program expands to include programs in fire science, education and emergency medical technician. Seventeen students so far have signed up for dual enrollment programs next year.
The dual enrollment program is part of an increased emphasis, mandated by the state, in developing career pathways. Students explore fields while earning college credit without having to pay tuition.
“I think it’s a wonderful start,” said Lorena Gasca, vice-president of the district’s school board, who also works as the director of career services at Triton.
Students in criminal justice program earned 12 hours of college credit, and in welding, they earned eight credits. Certified nursing assistance students earn 14 hours of college credit.
Students typically go to Triton in the morning for classes and then return to RB for the rest of the school day. RB provides transportation to and from Triton with a van or pays for the students to take cabs. Kylie Lindquist, assistant principal for curriculum and instruction, said that providing transportation has been the key to making the program work.
“I certainly think that the turning point was the transportation,” Lindquist said.
Senior Rosa Rendon was in the criminal justice program this year. She said she loved it, and is now planning on majoring in criminal justice in college. She said that she will go to a four-year college, but hasn’t yet decided which school to attend.
“Before the whole program thing I really didn’t know anything about criminal justice,” Rendon said. “I was not interested in it, but now that I’m out of the program, [I know] it’s a career that I want to pursue in the future.”
Rendon found out about the dual enrollment options from a meeting held late in her junior year.
“At the time, of course, I really didn’t know what I was going to do, pursue, so I was like ‘OK, why not just try it?’” Rendon said. “I just wanted to try something different.”
As part of the program, Rendon and fellow senior Fatina Amer spent Friday mornings for the past couple months hanging out at the Riverside and Brookfield police stations to observe and get a sense of what police work is like.
“I’m pretty much just there, watching,” Rendon said. “I’ve done ride alongs, I ride along with police officers — it’s just crazy. I’ve been introduced to this small world that I never really knew existed.”
She said she was especially captivated by her course in juvenile justice and now thinks that she wants to work in the juvenile justice system.
“I like the concept of trying to get an individual back on his feet,” Rendon said.
Rendon added that she is uncertain about whether she wants to be a sworn police officer. She’s not sure she wants to carry a gun and wonders if she would be able to shoot someone if she had to.
“I don’t know if I’m capable of doing that,” Rendon said. “I do like criminal justice, but I don’t know if I’m going to be able to fire a gun.”
As part of the program, students work with Brookfield resident Ericka Kouba, a career coordinator for the Des Plaines Valley Region, who helps coordinate the program between Triton and participating high schools.
Kouba taught a job readiness class to the criminal justice students, focusing on skills like how to interview and to act professionally. She emphasizes the importance of punctuality, appearance and how to get along in the work place. Rendon said that the entire experience has helped her mature and feel more confident.
Rendon said that she has become a more engaged student in all of her classes.
“I do try to engage more and participate more,” Rendon said. “It helped me on a personal level; it helped me getting out of my comfort zone and acknowledging what I can do better.”
RB expands dual credit program
In addition to dual enrollment classes with Triton, RB has been expanding its dual credit classes in which students can earn college credit by completing high school classes at RB, rather than Triton. This year, 256 RB students earned college credit through dual credit classes in the school’s career and technical education classes. RB classes offering dual credit are advanced digital design/graphic arts, advanced TV production, baking and pastry, business II, digital design, graphic arts, digital literacy I, drafting/cad technology, electronics technology, social media and digital marketing, TV arts production, advanced strength conditioning and mind and body fitness.