Pacific High School (PHS), in partnership with SBVC, hosted the community for a ribbon-cutting and open house ceremony for its new Transportation & Advanced Technology Center, co-located on its campus, on February 9, 2023. The 20,060-sq. ft. building will serve PHS students who are dually enrolled at SBVC and is the first of its kind in California.
SBVC offers dual enrollment and has articulation agreements allowing high school students to take courses during the day and receive college credit. With the new state-of-the-art facility, SBVC brings its courses and instructors directly to PHS students. Students can receive certifications as early as their high school graduation and enter high-wage and high-demand careers in the transportation industry. The $12.5-million facility features a prototyping lab, a transportation lab that can accommodate multiple vehicle types, and other cutting-edge instructional resources.
Since 2016, SBVC's Applied Technology, Transportation, and Culinary Arts Department have partnered with PHS to create guided pathways for high school students. SBVC Professor Berchman ‘Kenny’ Melancon and PHS Social Studies teacher CJ Eastwood spearheaded the project.
“It started with 15 students that we actually bussed to San Bernardino Valley College,” recalls Pacific High School principal Dr. Natalie Raymundo. Funding for the center came to fruition in 2018 and was a “long time in the making” with delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It gives them a fast track to a career in the industry,” said SBVC's Dean of Applied Technology, Transportation, and Culinary Arts Dr. Vanessa Thomas. “These students can start earning a living wage, they can support their families financially and contribute to the local economy.”
The Heavy/Medium Duty Truck program prepares students to repair commercial diesel vehicles, but as Dr. Raymundo stated in her remarks at the ceremony, “this building is of the present and future. It’s already outfitted and ready to house future programs such as Commercial Electric Vehicles.”
To learn more about SBVC, visit valleycollege.edu.