A school without steers? Unthinkable, said Mason Tucker, a 10th-grader at Madera South High School north of Fresno.
鈥淲hen I found out there were all these animals here, I thought, I can do this in school? I have to be here,鈥 said Tucker, who commutes 40 minutes each way to attend the school鈥檚 agriculture program. 鈥淲hy hate school when you can love it?鈥
Steers, sheep, horses, pigs, rabbits, chickens, a sweet-smelling tangerine grove and acres of rotating crops are part of Madera South鈥檚 agriculture pathway for students鈥攐ne of thousands of career-focused courses in California high schools that are part of a renaissance in career and technical education. Aimed at preparing students for skilled, high-wage jobs, the pathways are a step beyond the vocation ed courses of generations past.
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