New Haven High School is known for its academic excellence. At New Haven High, students have the option to take classes at the Four Rivers Career Center in Washington. Yes, New Haven gives its students the opportunity to take math, science, English, history, and shop classes, but the options are limited when it comes to pursuing training in a trade.
Sometimes, it is falsely believed that the students who attend the Four Rivers Career Center don’t care about their grades and just want to take a “half day” of school. But really, some of the Four Rivers students often have more homework than a student taking other classes at NHHS.
Destinee Deener, who takes Health Occupations at Four Rivers, mentioned, “We spend half of our day at the hospital, learning from nurses and doctors. Then we go home and have 2-3 hours of homework and lots of studying to do, on top of all the homework we have from school. It gets very stressful at times, but the environment is fun and this will all be worth it in the long run.”
Brandon Young, another student from New Haven who attends the Four Rivers Career Center, is in the auto tech repair class.
I asked what his thoughts were on the career center, and Brandon commented, “I love going to the career center. The teachers treat us like adults and make it feel as much like a work environment as they can. We also have homework to get done for our classes there, but mainly all of our work is hands-on, and it's [kind of] hard to fit a car in your backpack.”
Another student enrolled in Four Rivers is Lauren Hoerstkamp. Lauren wants to pursue a career in the teaching profession, and this is one step on the path to becoming one.
I sat down with Lauren so I could get her comments on what the career center is like for her. Lauren mentioned, “This is my first year at Four Rivers, and I’m loving it! I love the freedom and the responsibilities we have here-- it’s almost like I’m running my own classroom. I have to make lesson plans, schedules, and then sit down and listen to lectures from teachers and learn about different tactics on how to become a teacher. Getting to be hands-on with the kids is so fun, but then I also get lots of work to take home.”
These are just some of the many classes you can take at the Four Rivers Career Center. I want more people to know that the Four Rivers students aren't just trying to get out of school by attending this program, they are trying to build up their careers now, and this is one step in the right direction to make that happen.