What do cattle, business leaders and youth all have in common? Give up? How does career education sound?

On Nov. 18, members of Whitehall-Coplay Communities That Care (CTC) had a presentation at their monthly meeting on exactly this topic. Kyle Longacre, assistant principal at Souderton Area High School and coordinator of the district’s Pathways 360 program, talked with the group about the innovative project his district embarked upon three years ago.

With funding from a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant, Souderton Area School District has been able to implement a comprehensive career awareness and education program beginning in the eighth grade. Students work with a career counselor to determine which of four career clusters seem interesting to them.

In ninth grade, students explore careers and fields of work within their chosen career cluster and do written and oral reports on their findings. Between 10th and 12th grade, students have opportunities to job shadow, mentor or attend professional development events aligned with their interest area. They also can take on leadership of school projects under the tutelage of an adult mentor. At any point, students can change their career path.

Another feature of the program is the software students can use to assist them in selecting coursework that provides the foundation they need in order to study or work in their area of interest.

The grant provides funding for several professional positions in the district to work on career education with students. Last year, a component was added to assist youth with disabilities to explore vocational opportunities as well.

In 2015, 330 students completed mentorships. In 2016, that number increased to 352, and the 2017 anticipated completion rate is 370. By partnering with local businesses/industries, community leaders, the workforce investment board and the CTC, the district has been able to expand learning into the workplace. Youth are provided real-life situations and develop a clearer understanding of work ethics and vocational choices.

Longacre also showed some of the district’s PA Youth Survey data, which demonstrated increased student engagement in school since the implementation of the program. Students indicate a greater sense of their future and are selecting courses in high school with a better understanding of how they relate to their field of interest. Discipline problems also have decreased.

Increasing career awareness is a priority for the work of the Whitehall-Coplay CTC. Youth who have a greater sense of the future and goals for their future - and feel they can contribute in a meaningful way - are more likely to remain resilient throughout adolescence and avoid problem behaviors.

As for the cows? One of the five objectives in the USDA grant is to increase awareness of the vast number of career opportunities and jobs available related to the food system. We need workers to ensure our food supply moves safely and efficiently from the field or farm to the consumer.

Correction: In the Nov. 17 Whitehall-Coplay Press article on the Oct. 21 CTC meeting, members discussed teen pregnancy, but not a teen pregnancy problem in our local community. Instead, the CTC looked at and discussed statistics from another community’s data, which revealed teen pregnancy had actually declined for all groups except Latina teens. Knowing this, the CTC in that community began working with and engaging the Latino families and businesses to address that particular segment of the population, and the problem declined.