The Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, through its Promise Neighborhood initiative, has invested funds into an innovative position at Corning Union High School District (CUHSD), a Career Pathway Coordinator. The investment aims to optimize and expand the district’s Career Technical Education (CTE) programs, ensuring the district has quality programming that blends technical, academic, and employability skills, and leads to meaningful career opportunities.
The Career Pathway Coordinator has been working alongside education colleagues within the district to refine, optimize, and expand degree pathways and strengthen partnerships with local industries and colleges. In a short period, the initiative has made significant strides; these are a few of the highlights:
Dual Enrollment CTE Expansion
Over the years, the CUHSD Dual Enrollment Program has expanded to include a variety of CTE courses, including Agricultural Mechanics, Welding, Natural Resources, Patient Care, Introduction to Medical Careers, and Advanced Manufacturing. Students can simultaneously earn high school and college credit for completing specific CTE courses, getting them one step closer to their career goals. Reflecting on the benefits, Emily Brown, Career Pathway Coordinator, comments, “Dual enrollment gives students an incredible opportunity to gain real-world experience while pursuing their education, setting them up for success both in the classroom and beyond.” To obtain approval to classify CTE courses as dual enrollment courses, CUHSD worked with Shasta College to ensure the course meets the rigor and curriculum standard of the equivalent-level class and other requirements.
Local Partnerships Expanded
In Spring 2025, regional businesses opened doors to 90 high school seniors for an eventful Job Shadow Day. In total, 42 organizations – auto dealerships, automotive repair shops, veterinarians, health clinics, welding shops, and many other businesses – accepted students to shadow their professionals for the day. The job shadow day provided students the opportunity to learn firsthand the experience of different professionals, an experience that will help them make more informed career choices. Bridging school and community has been a great opportunity for the students to build connections with local professionals in their field of interest. One participating business shared, “The students who visited our office for Job Shadow Day stood out—they were early, well-dressed, eager to learn, and showed impressive professionalism. They truly set the bar high, and we hope to one day call them colleagues in the field of dentistry.”
Industry Collaboration
A CTE Advisory Committee, made up of 24 industry professionals, is helping make the high school district’s CTE program more relevant and impactful through their valuable input on curriculum, certifications, training tools, and industry standards. These professionals are helping ensure the CUHSD’s CTE offers courses that align with industry expectations and drive growth and forward motion for our programs.
“The state added value by investing Promise Neighborhood funds in Corning’s place-based efforts, and CUHSD amplified that investment with strategic initiatives aimed at driving long-term change.” – Dawna Shchedrov
Long-Term Success
Over the last two years, CUHSD procured several grants managed by the California Department of Education to strengthen and expand the district’s CTE program. The diverse funding sources total $3.7 million. Of that total, $1.2 million was procured in 2024 from the Golden State Pathway Implementation Grant to promote CUHSD pathways in Manufacturing, Entrepreneurship, and Culinary, and $1.8 million came from the K12 Strong Workforce Program to promote pathways in high-wage, high-skill, high-growth areas, which includes Education, Patient Care, Firefighting, and Animal Science. A smaller CTE Incentive grant positively benefits all CTE pathways, with investments in facilities, equipment, certifications, and industry alignment. The grant funds from CDE will exponentially impact students and industries and boost regional and state economies.
In short, this is not just about opportunities – for many, this is a game-changer, one that will have life-long impacts.
“It is no understatement to say that the Promise Neighborhood investment has benefited the community and the children, and the investments have been multiplied,” commented Dawna Shchedrov, Corning Promise Director.