October 2016 Volume 8, Issue 10
Business Connection Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce
Business Back 2 School participants will arrive just like the students they will meet – on a big, yellow school bus.
Chamber Education Committee opens doors with Business Back 2 School For many, high school vocational education class-
es conjure up memories of pecking out the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog on a manual typewriter or using a belt sander for the first time.
Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Team Bill Marcum, CEO Lindsey Cope, Project Manager Amy Hallock, Bookkeeper Kelso Longview Business Connection is published monthly by the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce 105 N. Minor Road • Kelso, WA 98626 • 360-423-8400 kelsolongviewchamber.org To advertise, call Bill Marcum, 360-423-8400 or email bmarcum@ kelsolongviewchamber.org Ad Deadline: 20th of each month
Today it’s called keyboarding and it leads into web design and computer-aided design (CAD). In 2016, students are working with automotive diagnostic equipment and catering events. Some students are enrolled in Tech Prep, a dualenrollment, dual-credit program that prepares students for high-skill, high-wage careers. Students earn college credit at Lower Columbia College while attending classes in high school. Coursework is focused and covers a wide range of areas from automotive to nursing. For those interested in checking out what today’s high school students are learning first hand, the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce and Kelso and Longview school districts are teaming up to present Business Back 2 School. Business Back 2 School is an opportunity for business members in the community to see how vocational education classes have changed in the past 40 years. The first of these tours is scheduled for October 13 at Kelso High School.
Chamber CEO Bill Marcum credits Alyssa Joyner for bringing the concept to the Education Foundation Committee’s attention from a similar program in Vancouver, Wash. The Chamber’s Education Committee is made up of community business members and representatives from Longview-Kelso education. The program is three-fold, Marcum said. Business leaders often say the high schools are not teaching students the skills they need to fill their open, or future, positions. “But is that an accurate assessment?” he asked, and “hat if we gave them an opportunity to answer?” “The CAD program at Kelso High School, for example,” Marcum said, “is one of the premiere in the state of Washington and they want to show that off. That’s just one of the pieces.” The second piece – school districts want feedback. Some of their programs have state and federal mandates and they want to know if they are teaching the right subjects and skills. The third piece is the Education Foundation would like to create a website and other programs to connect businesses and students. They would like to see For more Back 2 School, see page 2