Wimberley High School students gain hands-on experience

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"Practicum has taught me how to communicate better with adults in a business environment, learn and intern for someone and given me an escape from stress of not finding a career,” said Lennie Roberts, who is in the business management practicum at Wimberley High School.[/caption]

WIMBERLEY — Children have endless options of what they want to be when they grow up, but when they get older, that decision becomes more real.  And sometimes, it can be terrifying. Wimberley High School tries to help its students with that decision through Career and Technical Education and its Practicum Program.

The local business community partners with WHS to provide a different type of learning experience for students through its Practicum Program, where students receive hands-on training in their preferred occupation.

Students entering WHS in the ninth grade, beginning in the 2014-15 school year and thereafter, must enter with the foundation program — English, mathematics, science, social studies, languages other than English, physical education or fine arts — and at least one endorsement. The endorsement options include Arts & Humanities, Business & Industry, Public Services, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and Multidisciplinary Studies.

Each endorsement offers several programs of study for the students to choose from. Practicum Supervisor Stephanie Breedyk, who joined WHS in 2017 from Lehman High School to lead the program, said that there is a wide range of paths that students can take. Some of the most popular are health science and agriculture.

“A practicum is also referred to as work-based learning and it’s generally an advanced global course specialized in whatever field of study the student is interested in pursuing for a career. Then, the students have the opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills that they've been learning in class to their work-based learning experience,” she said. “And so for us as a district, we decided that all of our practicums were only going to be available to seniors and then they were going to be unpaid practicums as well. Basically, we're thankful for the experience that these professionals are giving our students to prepare them for the next step of their life. So, it's just basically known as a capstone course for this sequence of classes that they take starting freshman year.”

Breedyk added that not every endorsement will offer practicums for students and that, while they are not required, she believes that the practicums help students become successful in whatever career path they choose.

“If they choose an arts and humanities endorsement, those classes aren't Career and Technical Education classes. And so we don't have practicums for arts and humanities. The only way to qualify for a practicum course is to take these career and technical education classes, and so not everybody's going to qualify for a practicum course. I wish that all students were required to take one because I think it would help them tremendously,” she said. “But really, the ones that are following the program of study and taking advantage of this course their senior year, those are the kids that you see that are just so successful and they're getting leaps and bounds ahead of other people that have not done this their senior year.”

The practicum program is not only offered at Wimberley ISD; it should be available in all Texas public schools, Breedyk explained. She said that as long as students are following the coherent sequence of classes within their program of study, they are eligible for the practicum.

However, the program at WHS may look different than what’s offered at other school districts.

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"By the end of the six weeks, I became very comfortable with all of the staff there and I developed skills and knowledge that can be applied universally,” said JD Wilkes, who is in the health science practicum at Wimberley High School.[/caption]

“The thing is, a lot of the bigger school districts, instead of the students like going out and getting this hands-on experience with community and industry leaders, a lot of the bigger classes will call it a practicum course, but [the students] are just sitting behind a computer and they're working on getting like a certification or something. They do have lab-based practicum courses, where it still counts as practicum, but they're still sitting in a classroom,” Breedyk said. “Whereas all of our practicum students, they're out working around Hays County and they're learning from the professionals.”

What Breedyk enjoys most about her position is watching her students have a “light in their eye” when they discover what they want to do for the rest of their life before they get into college. She said that’s the most rewarding thing.

“It might be something like, for example, this year, I have some health science students that are working with CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Hospital in New Braunfels. And some of the girls that are in the health science program, they're working in the women's health floor, and they're actually seeing babies being delivered and epidurals being given and C-sections. They are just enamored by it. I think probably two of the girls that have already been there in the women's health floor, they have just said like, ‘This is amazing. I know this is the path I want to take,’” Breedyk said. “One of my girls is doing real estate. She said, ‘I don't feel the stress of having to choose a career. Like, I feel like I'm actually getting ahead.’ For me, it's so gratifying to see them realize they're a step ahead. They don't have to stress as much and they're so confident in the decision that they're making going into their freshman year of college.”

She added that the practicum component is the high point for her and she is happy to be in Wimberley to represent and supervise the students. But also, “the kids are the real rock stars of the program” with their professionalism and maturity, according to Breedyk.

To learn more about the Wimberley High School's CTE and its Practicum Program, visit .