When you think of preparing students for the future in K-12 education, the first thing that may cross your mind is teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic. Of course that has and will always continue to be a cornerstone of educating our children. However, in Boerne ISD we also prepare students for the workforce through our Career and Technical Education programs.
We have collaborated with our community to offer programs that provide hands-on experience and give students the tools they need to succeed at the next level. We are constantly working with the Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, San Antonio, and surrounding business communities, which includes the Greater Boerne Chamber of Commerce, the Boerne Kendall County Economic Development Corporation, among others. Our local business partners help keep us up to date with the latest workforce needs in our community, so that we can better serve our students and prepare them, as well as the business community, for the future.
We have many student success stories thanks to our strong business partnerships.
Carson Soens and Franklin Willenberg, Boerne High School Seniors, are completing our Culinary Arts Pathway this year.
Carson is participating in our unpaid Practicum rotations as part of Practicum in Culinary Arts. He is currently working at Cypress Grille with Chef Paul Thompson. He worked for Chef Mark Sierra at Compadres Hill Country Cocina for 11 weeks this past fall, and he will spend eight weeks learning from Chef Matt Juarez at Morningside Ministries at Menger Springs.
Carson has been accepted at the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in Austin and the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio.
Franklin is participating in the paid Practicum arrangement within our Practicum in Culinary Arts class. He is employed at Peggy’s on the Green under Chef Brandon Navarro with the title of Pantry Chef. Frank completes prep work and works the line. He has been employed at Peggy’s on the Green for two years and before that worked at Raising Canes.
Frank will be attending culinary school in Finland.
Our Culinary practicum partners are amazing. This school year, we are partnering with Peggy’s on the Green, Morningside Ministries, The Center, Compadres Hill Country Cocina, Opal & Onyx, Salty & Sweet, Blacksmith Grill, Little Gretel, The Bevy Hotel, Cypress Grille, Cibolo Brewing Company, Smoke in the Hills Catering, and our BHS Cafeteria, SFE.
Our Culinary Practicum students are out at their worksites across Boerne during class time two days a week. Our site supervisors, managers, and chefs are amazing, providing valuable hands-on learning experiences that will help our students in a myriad of ways for years to come.
Champion High School Senior Max Hurlbut is completing the Automotive Practicum Program this year. He is currently working for NAPA Auto Parts in Boerne where he is able to hone his skills in this profession.
Max is hoping to attain a position working for CAT HOLT after graduation where he will learn to work on heavy equipment as well as doing welding/fabrication as his position requires.
The Automotive department has practicum students in the Boerne community working at Toyota of Boerne, NAPA Auto Parts, Dodge of Boerne, and Lester’s Auto Repair. Past Alumni are also employed in the Boerne Community at Ford of Boerne, Ritchie Automotive Repair, Beldens Automotive, Fair Oaks Automotive, and O’Reilly Auto.
We cannot thank our Community Partners enough for all they do for our students.
We are a reflection of our community, and we are the best school district because our community is the best. We couldn’t continuously provide a top quality education to our students without the unwavering support of our community. And for that, we thank you.
Boerne ISD Culinary Arts Teacher Amy Hogan and Automotive Technology Teacher Christopher Liberty contributed to this article.
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