DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. – A Jacksonville native and social media influencer has renewed debate about trade programs in Duval County Public Schools after posting videos urging expanded vocational training.
Jason Goodrich, 25, who attended Duval County schools, is pressing for more trade pathways for students who do not plan or do not have the opportunity to attend college.
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“If we’re the taxpayers, and this is going to be paid for with taxpayer dollars, why not, at least at the very minimum, put it on the polls and let the people vote for it?” Goodrich said.
Goodrich said he would like to see programs start as early as ninth grade so students could build skills over four years.
“Then by the time you get to the 12th grade, you got four years of whatever your trade may be, electrician, welding, carpentry, whatever the case may be,” Goodrich said.
Duval County School Board officials said many of the opportunities Goodrich described are already offered through the district’s career and technical education program (CTE).
Jill Fierle, director of CTE for Duval County Public Schools, said CTE programs range from culinary arts and cosmetology to medical pathways.
“I think a lot of people are still used to what we used to call vocational education, and it has evolved since then into what we now call career in technical education, where we’re really taking all of the technical skills and embedding them with those academic skills,” Fierle said.
Fierle said the challenge the schools face is not creating those programs but staffing them.
Fierle said staffing shortages have forced the district to close some programs and that the district is open to partnerships and new ideas to support students.
“We have had to close a couple of really great programs, because we can’t find the staffing,” Fierle said. “So I guess my message would also be (that) we are very open to partnering, listening to new ideas, trying new things, because the ultimate end goal is to support our students.”
School board officials told News4JAX that social media movements like Goodrich’s raise awareness and can inspire new initiatives to meet public needs.
Goodrich said he has launched a Change.org petition, which has garnered 1,300 signatures so far, and continues to reach out to district leaders to press for a stronger emphasis on trades such as welding and plumbing.
“So far, I’ve reached out to 30 people at the school board and education leaders,” Goodrich said. “I’m willing to take it as far as Ron DeSantis’ office, if I have to.”
DeSantis is a strong proponent of workforce education, saying in a recent release about the state’s achievements that “Florida is now the number one state in the country for workforce education.”
Goodrich said he hopes even stronger trade programs in Florida will lead other states to follow.
“I’m hoping to get trades back in Florida, and I’m hoping that the kids in Florida have such a good success rate with trade school that other states start to follow suit,” Goodrich said.