Civil Municipal - July 2024

for Good and other community entities. Espinoza says the success of these construction programs has sparked interest in expanding the model to other industries, such as manufacturing and healthcare. WORKFORCE PATHWAYS Bethel School District is creating pathways to a variety of careers through strong community ties, such as the newly formed partnership with the Eugene Springfield Fire Department. Through this collaboration, high school students are introduced to firefighting, paramedic, and EMT training. Sproles recounts, “In the fall, our students will take classes at Willamette High School, which will culminate in several different weekends of training at the fire school. At the end of that time, if they’re old enough, they could test for their EMT licensure. We’re doing a very similar thing now with the Eugene Police Department using that same idea, and then looking to get into healthcare as well with Peace Health.” He emphasizes that although these programs are available to all students, the goal is to expand access to those fields, particularly for females and people of color. Willamette High School offers 13 accredited career education pathways, which include digital 358 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 07 BETHEL SCHOOL DISTRICT

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