Oregon City highlights new CTE pathways, plumbing pre‑apprenticeship and FFA chapter

Oregon City School District on Sept. 8 outlined an expansion of career and technical education across its three high schools, including a district‑run plumbing pre‑apprenticeship, a newly chartered FFA chapter and expanded robotics and dual‑credit partnerships.

The district’s CTE administrator, Mike Stead, said the plumbing program—part of a Clackamas County youth trades initiative—will give students a preferred entry pathway into the Area 1 Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 290 apprenticeship after students complete a sequence of in‑school coursework and certifications. "Students starting this year can graduate working with the area plumbers and pipefitters to then go preferred into that apprenticeship program," Stead said.

Stead told the board the pre‑apprenticeship requires students to complete Metals 1 and 2 credits, an additional metals course and an OSHA 10 certification, and to submit a portfolio at the end of the sequence. Angie Gilbert, the district’s school‑to‑career coordinator, was identified as the staff lead who will manage connections with industry partners.

The board also heard that CASE (the district’s alternative/high‑career campus) launched an FFA charter this year. Chloe Corless, the district’s agriculture science teacher and FFA advisor, said officials approved the FFA charter in August and that students across the district may join via the transportation shuttle. "FFA opened a lot of doors for me," Corless said, describing goals to grow student participation and establish a local alumni chapter to support programming and industry links.

Skynet, the district robotics team, briefed the board on outreach and competition plans. Student leaders said the team is restarting fall fundraising, working to expand elementary outreach and will host a robotics tournament at CASE during spring break. "We're here to promote STEM," said Ethan, Skynet’s outreach and mechanical lead. "We're trying to bring traction back and get out to everybody in the school district." Noah, the team’s electrical and safety captain, added the program seeks mentors and sponsorships.

Stead said the district is also expanding dual‑credit partnerships with Clackamas Community College (CCC). He noted a new automotive dual pathway and opportunities to braid CCC coursework with Oregon City instruction so students can continue to CCC and into careers without leaving the local campus.

Board questions focused on enrollment and industry partnerships. Stead said most CTE classes are filling and that class size limits vary for safety reasons (for example, machining classes are capped around 12–15 students; metals classes can extend into the 20s). He described active work to build advisory committees and to recruit local employers as partners; Benchmade was cited as an example of a manufacturer that hires students from the district’s metals program.

The presentation concluded with district leaders asking the board to prioritize additional CTE space and capital improvements at Oregon City High School in the bond work so the district can expand offerings. "For a high school the size of Oregon City High School, the number of CTE programs we have is not sufficient," Stead said.

If adopted into facility plans, the expansions will be phased with the district’s bond schedule and paired with CCC to create career pipelines that include direct apprenticeship and degree pathways.