SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane Public Schools is hoping to provide an alternative high school option for students interested in pursuing a career in the trades.
The four-year technical high school would allow students to graduate with their high school diploma, as well as a two-year technical degree.
There is NEWTech Prep in Spokane but it’s only half day sessions for students in grades 11th and 12th. The newly proposed Trades High School would be full-time for grades 9th through 12th.
The idea is part of the vision for ‘Together Spokane‘, a $200 million school bond that people in Spokane will vote on in November.
Rogers High School student, Ethan Sweeney is part of ‘Running Start SCC’, a program that allows 11th and 12th grade students to take college courses in the trades.
He said he would have loved to go to a four-year trades high school.
“To be honest, I don’t really like school a whole bunch, so I don’t want to be going for an extra four years afterwards. So, if I would have had the opportunity to graduate and have a job and a steady income, that would have been great,” Sweeney said.
SPS Superintendent, Dr. Adam Swinyard, said listening to kids and local businesses sparked the idea.
“What we’ve heard overwhelmingly is we have some really significant workforce needs in the trades, really across all sectors of our economy,” he said.
Local carpentry union, Carpenters Local 59, said there is a shortage of skilled workers.
“We’ve got thousands of retirees on the back end. It leaves a huge gap, a large hole to fill,” said lead representative, Tony Edwards.
He said a job in the trades can be a great option for students like Sweeney.
“They can enter directly into our program and go to work right away, earning over $25 an hour and have paid full-family medical right out of the gate,” he said.
For more information on SPS’s trades high school plan, visit togetherspokane.org.
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