JobsPlus aids at risk students

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Richard Flores practices his blood pressure taking skills on Clinica Sierra Vista medical assistant Johanna Martinez

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Ashley Aragon shows how small and precise she had to make a display board folder packet on the AccuCut machine to her left at The Learning Center.

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Luis Castro carefully and skillfully prepares a left front fender for painting at Neira Body Works.

Imagine trying to escape the specter of gang involvement or the hopeless feeling of teen pregnancy, and you may be able to appreciate what a program called JobsPlus is doing for at risk teenage students in Kern County. JobsPlus reaches out to students enrolled in the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ Court and Community Schools Division, who have previously been expelled or are at serious risk of dropping out. Combined with the education they are receiving in community schools, it is giving them an opportunity to earn and learn what it takes to succeed as an adult.

Some of those it is helping are Luis Castro, Ashley Aragon and Richard Flores. Castro, a former gang member had been continuously expelled every year since he was caught selling drugs in eighth grade. Aragon had her hopes of graduating with her class and a bright future shattered by teen pregnancy. Flores faced life after foster care at age 18 without financial support or any tangible job skills. All are enrolled at Community Learning Center Tech where they had to be 30 credits away from graduation, while maintaining good attendance and academic standing to be eligible for JobsPlus.

“With JobsPlus we engage students in work-related learning experiences, career awareness and contextual learning opportunities that prepare them for graduation and postsecondary education,” said Career Development Specialist Andrea Parsons. “These days, high school graduation isn’t enough — students have to be prepared to take it to the next level. They are taught résumé writing and interview preparation, job search and knowledge of labor markets skills, and we can even provide them with appropriate clothes for job interviews.”

JobsPlus has partnered with approximately150 local business partners over the years. It places students in paid internships that match their interests. During their 4-12 week internships, students earn more than $100 for a week that cannot exceed 32 hours. Local businesses provide the venues and training, but students are paid from funding made available by the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

Castro, Aragon and Flores are proof of how well the combined schooling at Community Learning Center Tech (CLC Tech) and the JobsPlus program are working to help them overcome some very difficult obstacles in their lives.

Castro spends his afternoons working for Neira Body Works sanding and preparing cars for painting. Gang culture had been a part of his life ever since he was 13. He was not making it in the traditional school environment. Castro credits CLC Tech and JobsPlus with giving him new direction that no longer involves gangs.

“CLC Tech gives me more focus,” Castro said. “The classes are smaller, and I get the individual teacher attention, I was missing in high school. Through my teachers, I learned about JobsPlus. I worried when they sent me out for the job interview that I wouldn’t get hired because I am only 17 and because I had gang tattoos that were visible on my knuckles. But Jose Barbosa, my supervisor at Neira’s, gave me a chance because of what I knew and what I could do. At first, I thought it would be like a classroom, but the first day on the job I started receiving hands on training. That’s what I like. I want to do this because I like it — not because I have to. I still have to deal with my past, and I won’t be old enough to get a real job until the end of January, but JobsPlus is giving me the chance to turn my life around.”

Aragon spends her afternoons working at The Learning Center, helping teachers and others who come by prepare visual aids for their classrooms. It is not easy. She has to drop her children off at a day care center before boarding a bus for work. At night, the twins have to be cared for and so does her homework. But, as is the case with Castro, it is working out.

“It is really a different life than I expected for myself,” Aragon said. “Having children before finishing school was something I was unprepared for. I had to grow up so fast. It was crazy. But, I told myself ‘you have to make life better for your kids and yourself,’ and I am taking it day-to-day. It is really, really hard. I don’t know where I would be if it had not been for the county’s Teen Pregnancy Program, CLC Tech and the JobsPlus program. You have to love your job, and Judy Padgett and the others at The Learning Center make it really enjoyable every day. I thank them all for helping me make it this far. I just finished writing my résumé. I will graduate from CLC in December, and I know it’s going to be hard, but I am going to attend Cal State Bakersfield. I will take morning classes to earn a nursing degree and work evenings to support my family.”

Flores, much like his peers, faced an uncertain future. He began going to CLC Tech as a sophomore, after falling behind in his high school credits. As a foster child living in a group home, he knows that in four months, when he turns 18, government funding for his care will end. Prior to entering the JobsPlus program he had no marketable job skills.

“I was scared,” Flores said. “But my teachers at CLC Tech got me into the Liberty College medical assisting vocational program that prepared me for my current JobsPlus internship at Clinica Sierra Vista. I saw it as an opportunity to do something with my life. Through it all, everyone has encouraged me, letting me know I am smarter than most, cheering me on. They have been there for me. I have learned about phlebotomy, how to take vital signs and run EKGs. JobsPlus has helped me get more experience that will be great for my résumé. I have friends in prison who write to tell me how proud they are, telling me you don’t need prison — it sucks. When I graduate from Tech in December, I’m going on to Taft College where I am going to major in Criminal Justice and continue my medical training, too. The more training you have, the better educated you are, the more chance you have to earn more and be happy. If it were not for CLC Tech, Liberty College and JobsPlus, I would be just like my dad — in and out of prison. There was a time when I was immature and made stupid mistakes, now it’s time to be a man and take care of business.”

All three employers report the students are dependable, fast learners, and skilled employees and are glad they gave them a second chance. In fact, Flores’ supervisor at Clinica Sierra Vista, Edith Perez-Rudnick and Liberty College President Carlos Salinas, are still talking about the maturity he exhibited recently. When a patient developed sudden difficulty breathing, it was Flores who reacted immediately, rushing oxygen to her aid.


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