“Plan B” in Place for Tenino High School Students

Tenino High School, Tenino, Washington - Bronze Medal

Aaron Houk just completed his 8th year of teaching, and he has never been more excited than when he has a one-on-one conversation with a student in his class and he knows they are “getting it.”

“Implementing the Career Choices curriculum was easy, and we had support early on from our superintendent, school board, and our principal, Dave Chapel,” said Mr. Houk. “As our new principal, Gary Cameron, comes on board next year, I think he will be as excited as we are about the changes we are making in students’ lives with this course.”

Located in Tenino, Washington, the Tenino High School Beavers are offered college credit for Success 101 through dual enrollment. “When they realize that they are already college students when they are taking Success 101, the lights come on. For many, they understand the importance of what they are doing and what a positive difference it will make in their lives,” Mr. Houk explained.

When asked how he heard about the Career Choices curriculum, Aaron said that he had been introduced to it as a student teacher at a different high school. He knew from the start that it was a program he wanted to implement whenever he could and, with the support of his principal, Success 101 is now offered to every freshman and Success 201 is available to every junior.

“Having a back-up plan is one of the most important concepts students take with them when they complete Success 101 at Tenino High School,” according to Houk.

That back-up plan came into play as Houk was counseling a young man who set his sights on a career in professional football. After doing his research, the student discovered that only 1.7 percent of college football players and 0.08 percent of high school players make it to the professional level. “That’s when the lights came on for him,” concluded Aaron.