Evergreen Middle School students get a look at career opportunities

Eighth-graders in the Central Valley School District got a glimpse this week of some classes they may take next year, as well as classes they have an opportunity to take for free at Spokane Valley Tech over the summer.

“When I was going through high school we didn’t have these options,” said Keith Eggleston, sports medicine teacher at SVT and sports medicine coordinator for Rockwood Clinic.

On Wednesday, students from Evergreen Middle School toured Spokane Valley Tech.

Tom Molter’s band class took the tour as a group. Susan Christenson, director of instructional technology and career and technical education, asked the students to close their eyes and imagine the building completed, with space for students to present their projects, hardwood floors, a commons and more science laboratories.

“This is what we hope to see in the next year or two years,” she told them. She also introduced them to Microsoft IT Academy, one of the classes offered this summer.

Those who pass the class will become certified Microsoft Office specialists, a skill many employers look for, she said.

Eggleston told students that his classes learn about anatomy, orthopedics and skin conditions associated with sports.

Central Valley High School science teacher Phil Plesek told the students they will never use a textbook in his biomedicine class.

“I am a facilitator in this class,” he said. The class uses websites like the Mayo Clinic and Harvard to learn what he called “now medicine,” since the textbooks are usually out of date by the time they are published.

He showed them cow hearts they will dissect and learn about, and told them they will learn about DNA testing and electrocardiograms.

Students worked their way through several course selections during the tour. They visited the cosmetology class, the fire science class and the engineering class.

“I think they are all very interesting,” said Maddy Walter, one of the eighth-graders. She said she would be very interested in taking the biomedicine class.

Dakota Lovins said he was hoping to sign up for sports medicine.

“I’m excited to sign up for a few classes,” he said.