Illinois Vocational Education
While vocational administrators have no choice but to play the hand they’re dealt by lawmakers, they hold cards that can influence future initiatives and funding decisions.
Illinois vocational education invites local, state and national politicians to visit its campuses and encourages lawmakers to attend the institute’s business partnership meetings. The four campuses even organize special days in politicians honor.
The idea is not to “badger” lawmakers, but to get Illinois vocational education institutive viewpoints across and–perhaps more important–to show elected officials what the students can do. “That’s where it really happens–once you get them involved with the kids. That’s where the rubber meets the road.”
The Payback Marty Hawkins finds himself spending increasing amounts of time and money evaluating program effectiveness–something his school board is really big on. It’s a bit of a headache, he allows, but he’s not complaining. In fact, he likes what it says about how far vocational education has come in Washington State.
“If you go back to the ’80s, nobody cared how well we were doing,” he recalls. “We were that program over there, the one [about which people thought], We need a safety valve, so you guys just do your thing and don’t create any waves, and we’ll leave you alone. But now we’re a valued partner and, because of that, they want to know if what we’re doing is working.”
Kocher-Taylor doesn’t need data to tell her what she’s doing is working, though she can supply those facts and figures, too. For her, the proof of her own and her school’s effectiveness is the kid holding something he made, the cake that someone’s actually going to use at their wedding reception, the spark in the eyes of a student returning from a job shadowing or mentoring experience. Even with the challenges and the long days and the aggravation, when those kids succeed it makes it all worthwhile.
Murphy says he’s still in vocational education after 21 years because he loves the awesome responsibility of creating a positive future for kids and the dynamic nature of the business of education. Taylor calls his job “the most exciting work I’ve ever done.”
Paist concurs, adding his appreciation of the wonderful community of very talented, very skilled, very committed teachers with whom he works.
Balistreri calls student success the greatest joy of being a vocational administrator. But he hopes it won’t sound dumb if he adds that he genuinely likes even such mundane aspects of the job as budgeting and paperwork. Orr figures he must be having a good time because he’s still at his desk even though he no longer needs the paycheck.
“I’ve got 32 years in. I can retire at 30. So when it’s not fun anymore I can pack it in,” he says. “But I thoroughly enjoy everything I do right now. So I’m going to hang in there for a while.”
Some lead vocational centers, while others are vocational directors for school systems. Some do their job at a part-time center where students from comprehensive high schools take vocational courses for a few hours a day. Others work at vocational high schools where students spend their entire school day receiving both vocational-technical and academic instruction. Vocational administrators inhabit a variety of settings, and each job carries its own advantages and drawbacks.