Most important that CTE create “destination programs” as much as possible; Don’t repeat earlier mistakes
Former Verde Valley Board Advisory Committee member Bill Regner, a member of the Clarkdale Town Council speaking as an individual, cautioned the Governing Board and President Lisa Rhine at the April meeting against repeating earlier mistakes made in the East Region when Career and Technical Education (CTE) training was first attempted (2004-06). He said that he learned when on the Committee from College staff “that the challenge to the Verde Valley was sustaining programs over the long-term. Programs would be started, go for a couple years, and begin to run out of local students, [and when the College] couldn’t fill the classes, the programs began to be terminated.”
Regner said that it is important that with every new CTE program an attempt be made to make it a destination program. In this way the program fills the classroom seats and becomes sustainable.
Regner said that the 70,000 residents in the East Region need CTE opportunities but may not have enough students to satisfy the minimum classroom enrollment requirements of the Community College. The “answer” to sustainability, he said, is creation of destination programs. He noted that viticulture and enology programs are doing exactly that. He said that time will tell when the culinary and hospitality programs will likewise attract students from outside the local area to supplement the number of local students in the classes.
You may view Mr. Regner’s speech to the Governing Board below.