WESTFIELD — Westfield Washington schools is opening a facility aimed at preparing students who are wanting to join the workforce fresh out of high school.
On Tuesday, the district broke ground on Shamrock Station across the street from Westfield High School.
The space will provide students with work opportunities in fields that include culinary arts, event management, media, and special education.
“Our ultimate goal here at the high school is that we would provide students with a wealth of opportunities and experiences both inside our classroom and outside our classroom," explained Westfield High School principal, Alicia Denniston.
In 2022, nearly 50% of high school graduates did something other than go to college following graduation. The program looks to help those students seeking alternative routes.
WATCH | Development of new statewide youth apprenticeship system underway
"This program gives them the opportunity to kind of be more creative, more free, do something they love, and then be able to do that as soon as they graduate," Denniston said.
The space will be open to the community to enjoy. If the space is wanted to be used for services such as catering and event management, it will be done by the students.
"It will be a fantastic opportunity for our students to be able to promote career and technical education by working with our community members, which is a really unique opportunity that our district has not quite seen at this level yet," Denniston said.
More information on Shamrock Station can be found here.
