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Education Must Be Flexible and Cultivate Passion

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By Peter Abbarno
20th District Rep. R-Centralia

Over the past few years, I have toured schools, skills centers, community colleges, and many Career and Technical Education (CTE) classrooms around the state and in the 20th Legislative District. Washington state is finally realizing; what many of us already knew; that children don’t all learn the same, don’t all think the same, and don’t all have the same career goals.

Some students are career ready and other students are college bound. Education must be flexible and help cultivate a student’s passion so they can turn that passion into a productive career. That requires Olympia to start thinking outside of the box.

As an employer, as well as a parent of students, I want our education system to be flexible, adaptable, and teach students how to think and help them develop the skills most important for our next generation of employees, employers, and leaders.

As the ranking member on the House Capital Budget Committee, this year we invested $115 million for the Small School District Modernization program, which provides planning and construction grants for smaller school districts that have significant building deficiencies. A boost to rural communities.

In addition, $68.2 million was invested in Career and Technical Education projects at Skills Centers and Technical Schools, including $1.154 million for the Cascadia Tech Natural Resources Learning Center at Kalama High School in the 20th District.

 Although the State continues to have the wrong Olympia-down approach on education, I do believe many investments have been made through policy to expand opportunities for our students outside the classroom. This will create a stronger workforce and stronger Communities.

Recently, I toured schools in the Centralia School District and met with students to discuss career- readiness, trades careers, apprenticeships, college and secondary education, as well as opportunities in the legal and governmental fields.

My first stop was Futurus High School, a small pioneering school in an alternative setting that provides a personalized learning environment. I later met with several classes at Centralia Middle School to discuss how to help students build upon their educational foundation to be successful in their personal and professional lives.

After spending many years volunteering in classrooms, serving as a mentor at W.F. West, and helping in school classrooms, a theme has emerged; there is no theme. They all have different passions, motivations, and skills. Some students thrive in brick-and-mortar schools and others need greater flexibility and options. Some learn by ‘doing’ and others are better at reading and analyzing text.

The advice I gave students during my tours was ‘Find your passion. Focus on whether a job you love. Make sure it brings you satisfaction in life. The most fulfilling careers make a positive difference in your life, and the lives of your family, friends, and community.’

Basic education is the paramount duty of the State of Washington. We must continue to invest in diverse learning opportunities, build a solid foundation in reading, writing, and mathematics, and ensure students graduate with life skills that will help them be successful regardless of the job or career. This is what I will continue to advocate for in Olympia.

I will also continue to encourage parents and families to stay involved in their students’ learning and education. We have some amazing local schools and local teachers. However, the family home is the first and last classroom a student learns in every day.

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Rep. Peter Abbarno represents
the 20th Legislative District and is
an attorney with Althauser Rayan Abbarno, LLP.

The post Education Must Be Flexible and Cultivate Passion appeared first on Centralia - Chehalis Chamber of Commerce.


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