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Teachers and students ask Tehachapi Unified to restore CTE teacher aides; district exploring work‑experience workaround
Summary
CTE teachers and students told the board Aug. 26 that Career Technical Education classes lost student teacher‑aide positions, harming instruction and grant compliance. Staff said course descriptions and a possible 'work experience' pathway have been prepared for board approval.
Teachers, students and parents urged the Tehachapi Unified School District board on Aug. 26 to restore student teacher‑aide (TA) positions for Career Technical Education (CTE) courses, saying their removal has reduced instructional safety and program quality.
Annie Tintore, introduced herself as a CTE graphic‑design instructor at Tehachapi High School, told trustees that several CTE teachers have been unable to place student TAs this year and that hands‑on classes require qualified student leaders to mentor others. “Having taught from both sides of this, I just want to say how critical it is for a CTE teacher that works in a hands‑on industry to have those students within the classroom who are a little bit advanced and able to carry forward and mentor other students,” Tintore said.
Digital‑photo teacher Wendy Carr said the program previously had two TAs for large classes and now has none. Carr described the operational strain and safety concerns that result when one teacher supervises as many as 35 students around woodworking tools and power equipment. She said some students completed summer coursework specifically to be eligible as TAs and that the sudden removal of those positions has hurt instruction and student opportunities.
Students who said they had TA experience explained its benefits. Peyton Seagal, a senior, said she helped in both photography and woodshop classes and that an extra adult or trained student “made it possible for [the teacher] to help one student at a time.” Beth Parks, a junior, said TA experience provides direct career training and that roughly 38 CTE class sections could benefit from reinstated TA roles.
Administrators and teachers told the board they had prepared course descriptions and a potential administrative workaround that uses state work‑experience codes to qualify students as supervised, credit‑bearing TAs. Wendy Carr said the district had drafted course descriptions “for every single one of our CTE courses” and submitted them to the principal; she asked the board to approve the changes so TAs could begin as soon as possible. Carr also said resolving the TA issue would help meet CTE grant (CTIG/CTEAG) compliance requirements that the program offer such opportunities.
No formal board vote on TA policy or the course descriptions was taken at the meeting. Superintendent Bell and board members acknowledged the request and an offer from staff to bring the prepared course descriptions for approval at a future meeting.
Why this matters: CTE classes require hands‑on supervision and student leadership opportunities that teachers said are currently constrained; teachers reported both safety and compliance concerns tied to the missing TA roles. Restoring a pathway for TAs would also preserve hands‑on career training that district staff and students described as important for workforce readiness.
