ACTON — The Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District will introduce new signature programs for the 2022-23 School Year that include a district-wide AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program for college-bound students and Career Connections, a four-year program for students interested in the building and trades, as well as a makerspace at Meadowlark Elementary School.
“We’re excited to expand our offerings for all of our learners,” Superintendent Eric Sahakian said in an interview.
On Thursday, Acton-Agua Dulce’s Board of Education will hold a special meeting at which the Board will consider approval of a general Career Technical Education (CTE) teacher for a proposed California Cadet Corps program. There will also be a short presentation on the California Cadet Corps.
The California Cadet Corps is a leadership program that promotes academic excellence, courages personal health and wellness and teaches basic military subjects, according to a description.
Sahakian hopes to have the program in place this fall, as an elective for Vasquez High School. The class would be offered at zero period or seventh period. The program exposes students to different pathways in the military and it would also meet the physical education requirement.
The proposed class would give students elective credits and it is also approved for A to G, the minimum admission requirements for the University of California.
“We’re trying to engage the whole child,” Sahakian said. “Not everybody is going to be college bound, not everybody’s going directly to work — it could be combination of college and career. And that’s where the AVID program comes into play, as well.”
The District will convert a classroom at Meadowlark into a makerspace innovative lab, a hands-on learning space where students can design, invent and create a variety of projects.
The makerspace will complement the Paxton/Patterson Lab at High Desert Middle School.
Career Connections will start this fall at Vasquez High as a hands-on elective in the building trades. Students who complete the four-year program will earn a certificate.
“It will kind of gives them a leg up when they apply for apprenticeship programs out in the industry,” Sahakian said.
Acton-Agua Dulce Unified also offers dual enrollment with Antelope Valley College. The district is working to identify one or two classes for students to take this fall.
The is small and rural, with about 957 students, total. Vasquez High has about 340 students, which leads to an average class size of about 20 students.
“Even though we’re smaller and we’re rural, our students really deserve all of the experiences of a larger school district and then some,” Sahakian said. “We know that know that one size does not fit all, so having these experiences and these opportunities is something that I’m looking forward to and I look forward to continue it.”
Students in sixth through 12th grades can also access online tutoring in all subject content areas 24 hours a day, seven days a week with a certified teacher. Students provide the questions and the teacher can walk the student through the problem. The program allows students to review previous work with the tutor.
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