Rogers Heritage High School Students Highlight Northwest Technical Institute

ROGERS -- Career classes are a growing option and some Rogers students are prepping a video to share the news.

Heritage High School broadcasting students are editing clips from a visit to Northwest Technical Institute. There will be a segment for Friday announcements and other longer pieces to inform students about their choices, said Sandy Beeson, broadcasting instructor for War Eagle Television.

Filming was a learning experience too.

Katy Rose, senior, said she honed her interview skills during the many chats she had with teachers, students and administrators at the school.

She learned that technical school can be a pathway to college, not just a way into the job market, she said.

"You don't have to go to college and be a doctor to get paid a lot of money," Rose said.

Administrators told them the school was "hands on," said Hanna Hegenbart, senior.

They visited the auto body shop. She saw a student changing the screen on an iPhone. They visited a room in the nursing department filled with life-like mannequin patients.

"They kept blinking and breathing," she said.

JoJo Hollaway, sophomore, said he wouldn't forget the mannequins, but was impressed with a super computer that analyzed medical information.

Skills make a path from the high school classroom to the employer's door, said Dawn Stewart, who directs the Career and Technical Education program in Rogers.

Students in Rogers attend career classes through Northwest Technical Institute both in Springdale and at the Center for Nonprofits.

Last fall the number of students increased by 35 percent to 64 students. This fall there were 63.

"Our goal is to increase it next year," Stewart said.

Classes include criminal justice, culinary arts, welding, cosmetology, certified nursing assistant, dental assistant and automotive collision repair.

Tuition is free to students, paid through the Arkansas Career and Technical Education Department.

There is an increasing focus for high schools to have students not just ready to head to college, but ready to step into a job, Stewart said. Local companies tell her they want aptitude and some basic skills, Stewart said.

"Many of the jobs that are available now are those that don't just require a college degree," she said.

Some students will be finished with their certifications by the time they finish high school, Stewart said. Others will have a year left.

She recruited the broadcast students to create a video for others.

Joey Saucier, senior, ran video during the visit. He said students at Northwest Technical Institute had purpose, something he hasn't always seen on his other college visits. He's met lots of students who are trying to figure out what they want to do, not working toward a goal, he said.

"The vibe of the place is totally different," he said.

David Escobar, junior, ran camera during the visit. He'd never heard of ammonia refrigeration before the visit. The units are complex, he said. He hopes the videos the crew makes explain to Rogers students the classes available in Springdale.

"Kids here might not know there's an opportunity like that nearby," he said.

There are students who would want to go, he said. He has a family member who burned out of college with an overload of classes. It could take 10 years to become a lawyer, Escobar said. The classes he saw would take one year.

That is part of the reason to introduce students to a technical school, Stewart said. If they take the classes through high school they might graduate with a certification or have one year left at a lower cost than a university.

"That is much more attainable than a four year college degree," she said.

The number of high school students attending classes through the institute has grown by more than 100 in the past three years, said Stephanie Trolinger, director of the Secondary Career Center at Northwest Technical Institute. Classes can give students college credit in high school either through Northwest Technical Institute or partnership credit through NorthWest Arkansas Community College.

Middle school students are the ones facing the decision, she said.

The campus can host a small group of students, but often she visits the schools.

"Think of something that interests you," she tells students during her visits. "Build on it."

Word of mouth brings most students to the institute, she said. She plans to use one of the videos the teens edit as information from the school.

"I would like for this to go all over the state," she said.