By B.C. Manion
Students will have more choices for technical and vocational training at Wiregrass Ranch and Land O’ Lakes high schools and fewer at Wesley Chapel and Pasco high schools in the coming year.
The district has cut the business and Diversified Cooperative Training programs at Wesley Chapel High and the cosmetology program at Pasco High, according to Rob Aguis, director of community, career and technical education for Pasco County Schools.
The business and Diversified Cooperative Training programs were cut because of a lack of student interest in the programs, said Carin Nettles, principal at Wesley Chapel High. The school’s television production and automotive classes are much more popular, she said.
While Wesley Chapel and Pasco high schools have lost programs, the district will be starting the Academy of Culinary Arts at Land O’ Lakes High and creating an Academy of Medical Professions at Wiregrass Ranch High.
Officials at Land O’ Lakes and Wiregrass Ranch high schools are enthused about the expanded opportunities for students.
At Land O’ Lakes High, construction crews are working to complete the Academy of Culinary Arts which will operate in a new 18,000-square-foot building.
The program will feature specialized kitchens, including a climate-controlled bakery/pastry kitchen.
In culinary, we offer Culinary 1, 2, 3, 4 and will integrate National ProStar and ServeSafe curriculum and industry certifications,” Aguis notes in his e-mail.
At Wiregrass Ranch High, the Academy of Medical Professions will include the Certified Nursing Assisting Program and the Emergency Medical Responder program.
“Wiregrass Ranch has had a very successful health program here for the past few years,” said Robyn White, an assistant principal at the school.
White noted that the planned Pasco-Hernando Community College campus next to Wiregrass High, coupled with the new Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel, will open the door to many new possibilities for students.
“I really look forward to building those relationships,” said Lisa Jones, a registered nurse who oversees the medical programs at Wiregrass Ranch High.
The medical academy will have Health Science 1, Health Science 2 courses for all of the students in that program. It also will have Nursing Assisting 3 and Emergency Medical Responder 3 for students in the different specialty areas.
The program also will have Medical Skills and Anatomy and Physiology classes, Aguis said in an e-mail.
The EMR program helps to prepare emergency responders, such as paramedics, police officers and firefighters, White said.
“I think we’re going to be able to reach more students,” Jones said.
Rich Batchelor, assistant principal at Land O’ Lakes High, said the school decided to do a “soft opening this year” because construction is still being completed,
Since the program will be housed in a new building, officials didn’t want to take any chances with unforeseen construction delays, he said.
While the program will be starting slow, Batchelor said he expects it to be the first “really big academy” in the county school district. Ultimately, he said, it will have about 400 students.
“A lot of schools with academies, they draw from the kids within their boundaries,” Batchelor said. This one will be drawing students from around the district.
During its first year, Batchelor expects the program to have about 100 students, with roughly one-third of them coming from outside of the school’s boundaries.
The positions lost at Pasco and Wesley Chapel high schools were caused by district budget cuts, Aguis said.
