August, 2020
Career Pathways Newsletter
August, 2020
What will the 2020-2021 School Year look like?
Great question! White Bear Lake Area Schools has been gathering information from WBLAS families, Governor Walz's office and the Safe Learning Plan, and met on Friday, July 31 with the WBLAS School Board. Final details are still being worked out, but an official decision will be announced in the near future. To stay up to date, be sure to check your email or the WBLAS website for frequent updates.
MN Trades Academy is a Summer Success!
MN Trades Academy (MTA) looks a little different this year. For the first time ever, MTA Leader, Dan Rossiter created a fabulous hybrid experience for MTA Interns. Three groups rotate throughout the paid, summer internship to experience at-home and in-person work experiences. Student Interns are building a variety of things such as birdhouses, cribbage boards, and sheet metal toolboxes. Construction Careers Foundation helped create at-home tutorials for their DIY projects. Students helped record and videotaped the tutorials. As much as DIY projects can be difficult to do at home, these tutorials will have a long shelf life and hopefully can be used by many students in the future. Read more about the great work that Rossiter does with his students HERE.
WBLAHS Junior, Abbi Lillo is a Construction Career Pathway student who has completed both Woodworking and an Introduction to the Construction Industry (Construction I) and Introduction to Construction Blueprint Reading, Carpentry, and Hand Tools (Construction II) courses. Lillo explained, “I originally did MN Trades Academy for fun. My family members own a construction business that offers roofing, electrical, carpentry, and more. MN Trades Academy will help me learn all those skills and help me decide what I want to do after high school.” On top of her classroom instruction, Lillo has also completed her OSHA Certification and helped prep the job site at WBLAHS - North Campus.
Most noteworthy is the shed MTA Interns are building which can be used at WBLAHS - North Campus for future storage. An important piece of MTA is to not only learn about the skilled trades, work ethic, and teamwork, but also how to give back to their community. The shed is an example of how these students are putting their skills to good use during these tough times. WBL Career Pathways is proud to sponsor the shed and looks forward to the finishing product in mid-August. A big thank you to WBLAS for letting Dan Rossiter and his team work at WBLAHS - North Campus all summer long. And thank you to JL Schwieters for donating the 2x4s and OSB Boards that will help complete the shed.
Youth Skills Training Grant makes a Lasting Impact on CNA Program
The MN DLI Youth Skills Training (YST) Grant has changed lives in many ways. To date, 121 students received a Certificate of Completion in the MN approved, CNA course at WBLAHS - South Campus. The average cost of a CNA course ranges from $1,000 to $1,500, saving students and their families well over $124,000 in instructional costs alone. Second, the 121 students who completed the CNA course each received 4 concurrent enrollment credits from Century College. At $201 per credit, this saved our students and their families nearly $100,000 in savings!
Furthermore, the YST Grant was able to provide financial support by paying for the students’ TB tests, background checks, and MN State Exam costs. Of the 121 students who completed the course and clinicals at Cerenity Senior Care - White Bear Lake, 90 students chose to take the MN State Nursing Assistant Exam. At $219 per test, students saw nearly $20,000 worth of savings with regards to test fees. To date, 48 students became CNAs and many students continue to work on re-taking the Skills Test to become certified on their own.
A gigantic congratulations to rising Seniors Lainey Nguyen and Brenda Oladipupo for successfully challenging and passing the MN State CNA exam. Due to Covid-19, roughly 30 Nursing Assistant students were faced with the difficult decision to take their clinical experience online and do the best they could with challenging the exam. Way to go!
Techie Dude hires First Intern
Congratulations to WBLAHS Senior, James Carney for being hired at Techie Dude in White Bear Lake. Owner and operator Jeffry Borglum is an active WBL Career Pathways Industry Partner, supports the White Bear Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business Education Network, and continues to serve local businesses of all sizes. Borglum adds that Carney is “already working directly with the walk-in customers, answering phones, and providing excellent customer service.”
