For high school students wanting a more practical, job-oriented path, the best option is the Silicon Valley Career Technical Education (SVCTE) program, serving over 25,000 high school juniors, seniors and even adults in the county.
SVCTE is a public school that provides 500-hour, year-long options where industry professionals teach a wide variety of courses, including cybersecurity, fashion design and forensics science.
Students participating in this program devote large parts of their school day to SVCTE — classes span three hours a day, for five days a week.
They can sign up during the course selection window by contacting guidance counselor Mary Carol Bernal, who manages SVCTE students for the district. Other counselors and College and Career Specialist Sierra Ward also play a part in bringing SVCTE courses to students by introducing them to the program with tours of the facility, shadow days and informational presentations.
Senior takes the Dental Assisting course at SVCTE
To participate in the course, senior Neha Tadikamalla heads from Saratoga High to the SVCTE campus via the program bus at 12:30 p.m. and returns at 4:30 p.m. Tadikamalla hopes to pursue a career in dentistry, so, having completed most of her required high school credits, she chose the Dental Assisting course at SVCTE to get a head start on her career.
“I would recommend SVCTE only if you finished most of your credits, or if you know what you want to do and really want to get involved,” Tadikamalla said. “It’s a big-time dedication.”
There, she learns and practices skills such as sterilizing tools and taking x-rays. She heavily values the interactive aspect of the course because she can gain practical experience.
“Class is usually just ‘do whatever you need to do’ — practice skills, review terms, and test yourself at different skills. Sometimes [we have] lectures, but not many,” Tadikamalla said.
After completion, this program offers University of California-approved A-G course credits, which can be transferred to any UC or California State University. Select colleges not included in the UC or CSU systems also accept these credits.
All students receive a total of 30 high school credits for the year, which appear in their high school transcripts as a single completed SVCTE class. Depending on the course, several students also secure internship opportunities in their course-related profession by the second semester.
Through the program, Tadikamalla will receive the certificates necessary for a dental assisting internship, including certifications in infection control and radiation control during the second semester, confirming the completion of her classes at SVCTE. Although not all courses come with internships or certifications, they provide a more in-depth education in industry than most courses at SHS do.
“I’m very grateful for participating in SVCTE, as it has opened so many opportunities for me. My class and teacher are all wonderful people who strive for a similar goal, which is to pursue a profession [in dentistry],” Tadikamalla said.
Senior takes Animation course from professional animator
Planning to pursue an art career, senior Lisa Chow is participating in SVCTE to refine her digital and traditional animation skills.
“I’ve been animating since middle school and never got tired of it,” Chow said. “And since I was done with most of my credits, I can focus mostly on animating, my art portfolio and college applications this year.”
Like Tadikamalla, Chow attends the course for three hours every weekday. On weekends, she spends more than 12 hours each day at an independent art studio called Fang Yun Hua in Saratoga, honing her abilities.
In the first few weeks of the animation program, Chow and her classmates learned the 12 principles of animation, including squash and stretch, follow through, and anticipation. Chow also learned about different kinds of walk cycles, such as traditional animations and keyframe animations. Keyframe animations are used by defining an animation sequence’s start and end points, leading to smooth and efficient transitions that make it one of her favorites. In the coming months, the class plans to experiment with Adobe Photoshop and Animate.
Chow’s teacher is Eric Whitman, a professional animation artist who created animation for “Men in Black” at Sony Animations and was later an animation director at Flip Your Lid Studios. In parallel with his 14 years in SVCTE, he has helped produce numerous animations — including a Coca-Cola commercial and “The Simpsons” — for both television and online.
“Mr. Whitman takes the time and effort to make his lectures interesting and fun simultaneously,” Chow says. “And I’m grateful SVCTE is free for all high school students.”
