Bishop - Vocational Ed. program pays of for Bishop grad

6-14-2008

A graduate of the Bishop Union High School Automotive Program has built upon that Career Technical Education (CTE) foundation and is now gainfully employed in his chosen field of endeavor.
After receiving his diploma from Bishop High in June 2007, Advanced Auto/CTE student Jeffrey Barnett was poised and ready to step up to the next educational level in pursuit of his goal to become a mechanic.
In just under one year’s time, Barnett was also able to complete a course of study at the much-respected WyoTech School, in West Sacramento.
Barnett enrolled in the post-secondary program after completing his high school courses, which included four years as a student under Bishop Union High School Auto Instructor Gregg Newcomb.

WyoTech, the Official Technical School of the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association), held the school’s 14th Commencement ceremony on March 21.
Beyond simply compleating the program successfully, Barnett was among this year’s WyoTech graduates singled out for recognition by the Department Coordinator and Instructors in the Outstanding Student category.
Those students so honored, according to WyoTech, have been selected “based upon his/her academic achievement, leadership ability, cooperation, dedication, motivation and professionalism.” Barnett received Honorable Mention status for his efforts in the High Performance Powertrains with Automotive Technology curriculum.
Barnett’s parents, Bishop residents Margorie and Dennis Reeves, traveled to Sacramento for the graduation ceremony.

After receiving his diploma from the Automotive Program at the WyoTech school in Sacramento, former Bishop High (2007) grad Jeffrey Barnett proudly poses with his instructors Ed Meehan (l) and John Brown. Barnett has since been hired by Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills. Photo submitted

Though Barnett expects to continue gaining expertise through future automotive classes, for now he’s stepped from focusing on his study-skills to dedicating himself to employing his newly-honed skills professionally.
Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills has recently added Barnett to its staff at the facility awarded “Best of the Best” dealership status by Mercedes-Benz, USA.
“Jeffrey successfully stepping from schooling onto a solid career path is a perfect example of what has been so rewarding about Bishop High’s Auto program over the years,” Newcomb said. “We’ve had many, many students that have learned the essentials of working on vehicles during their time in the program here, along with gaining real world experience during their time in our Community Classroom phase of study.”
The Community Classroom experience, Newcomb explained, comes about when students that have progressed into the Advanced Automotive level of study spend two class periods daily physically working in one of Bishop’s many automotive-related businesses.
There’s a two-fold advantage to the Community Classroom, according to Newcomb, thanks to these students gaining “real-world experience” in the business sector, along with local employers learning first-hand about potential employment candidates before that student has even earned their high school diploma.
Facing the constrictions within educational budgets caused by revenue cut-backs in state and federal programs, Newcomb explained, maintaining support for students dedicated to vocational education courses is requiring more community outreach on the part of CTE instructors in every field.
“Nothing can be taken for granted when it comes to protecting the future of ‘voc ed’ (vocational education) for Bishop students,” said Newcomb. “I’ve been taking more time than ever to let local businesses and parents know school officials want to hear from them about the value of these programs for our kids – that’s the best way to ensure these important options will always be there for Bishop’s youth.”
Nationally, statistics indicate that only about 20 percent of graduating high school students will go on to complete a four-year college degree program. Many more students, as is the case with Barnett, will elect to begin their professional careers by gaining skills in technical schools, to compliment their CTE work in high school, and then stepping into the workforce.