“Conducting an orchestra” comes to mind when you think of the work of Richard Grotegut at Ohlone College in Fremont, California. Grotegut is not in the music department, but a professor in computer networking and emerging technology as well as the main contact for the regional academy at the college. His orchestra includes high school and college teachers and administrators, business and industry leaders, and an assortment of state education work groups and contacts. Building on a successful project for the National Science Foundation called Learning Alliance for Bioscience, Grotegut is applying the same idea to create partnerships for the newly launched Information and Communication Technology (ICT) pathway. He sees this pathway as the right time, the right place, and the right model.

Irvington High School and Mission Valley Regional Occupation Programs, two local academies in Ohlone College’s academy tree, began implementing the ICT pathway in September 2007, with IT Essentials and CCNA Discovery classes for students in grades 10 through 12. Plans for expansion in 2008 include adding American High School in north Fremont and extending the collaborative to Santa Clara County, which includes Santa Clara High School and Foothill College. Expansion plans also include adding a ninth grade introduction to the ICT career pathway and career planning at the eleventh and twelfth grades. By 2009, Grotegut hopes to implement a two-week summer bridge program to help students prepare for college. He’s also working with business and industry to outline opportunities for their involvement in areas ranging from classroom speakers to internships.

Serving on the workgroup for the project called the California Statewide Career Pathways: Creating School to College Articulation, Grotegut has developed course outline templates for IT Essentials and CCNA, which are available as statewide models for any community college in the state to formulate articulation agreements. Ohlone College gives up to eight credits for IT Essentials and CCNA Discovery 1 and 2, and the ICT pathway feeds into the college’s STEM associate of science degree in computer networking, computer engineering, computer science, or engineering majors. Ohlone College, one of five regional academies in the Bay Area who have formed a consortium to leverage articulation agreements and pathway models, is building on earlier work by Cabrillo College with California State University – Monterey Bay to extend the ICT pathway to a four-year degree. CSUMB is currently finalizing a bachelor’s of science degree in computer networking with up to 12 credits for CCNA Exploration 1-4.

Jim Omlid, Coordinator of Regional Occupation Programs across three school districts, is seeing a rejuvenation of the Networking Academy and endorses the ICT pathway model. “The new curriculum is re-inventing the Cisco Networking Academy and the ICT pathway makes its reach much larger and broadens its appeal. This pathway model is so much better for students than standalone courses. This gives students real-world, practical application of knowledge and skills that translates into motivated, productive students.”