Kent School District students will be able to earn high school and college credit in a new after-school cybersecurity course with Green River College, a college representative told the Kent Chamber of Commerce at its Nov. 5 luncheon.
The course will stretch material normally taught in 10 weeks over 20 weeks. A cybersecurity professional and a Kent middle school science teacher with a background in the field will work together on the course. Students who apply to Green River and complete the program will earn five college credits and one high school career and technical education credit, the representative said. The program is supported by a state grant and is designed to prepare students for an industry certification exam.
The course offered one example of what speakers at the “Building STEM Pathways in the Kent Valley” luncheon asked more local employers to help create. Holly Miles, who works on Boeing’s future workforce team, told businesses to pick something they can keep doing, whether that means hosting a tour, visiting a classroom or taking on an intern.
“Think of something that you’re willing to do for the next five years,” Miles said. “Like just one thing, right?”
Trudy Swain, the Kent School District’s career and technical education director, pointed to welding students at Kent Meridian High School who spend the last two periods of their school day at a local manufacturer. They earn school credit while learning on the job, she said. Miles said Boeing also works with shop classes at Kent high schools through a program that allows certified instructors to endorse students for entry-level manufacturing jobs without an interview.
Kent businesses can help shape what students learn by serving on one of the school district’s career and technical education advisory committees. The committees meet three times a year and help keep courses aligned with the skills local employers need, said Trudy Swain, the district’s career and technical education director.
“It’s pretty low stakes, but it’s high reward,” Swain said.
Swain added that employers can use the district’s speakers bureau to volunteer for classroom talks or offer workplace tours. A shop that can’t fit an entire class can still host a small group, she said. Businesses can also give teachers a problem from their own workplace and have students explain how they would solve it.
STEM Paths Innovation Network, a nonprofit that offers free programming outside school hours, helped lead the discussion. The chamber’s chief executive said the chamber would continue the conversation in April and bring students into it. She also raised the possibility of matching students with employers and said the chamber has long advocated for paid internships.
“We’ve always advocated for paid internships,” Kent Chamber CEO Zenovia Harris said “They may not know your system, but they know something you don’t know.”
Learn more about the chamber’s Youth Business Leadership Academy here.
Video
Below is video from the event, as filmed and edited by Scott Schaefer (running time 1-hour, 18-minutes):
