Metro News Release

For immediate release: April 21, 2006

Cardozo High School Students Receive Training and Education for Metro and other Technical Skills Jobs

Cardozo Senior High School students can receive technical skills training for Metrorail, Metrobus and elevator/escalator maintenance jobs while attending school through a school-to-career program sponsored by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT), DC Public Schools (DCPS) and Metro.

The Cardozo ElectroMechanical Technology Training Program began last fall for students in the school’s TransTech program. Currently, 16 sophomores and 14 juniors are participating in selected courses.

The program provides students with a strong foundation in electro-mechanics, from basic electricity to electro-mechanical technology, and gives them both classroom and real-world experience in the transportation maintenance field. It is designed to give the students a competitive edge when applying for technical jobs after graduation.

“The partnership with DC Public Schools and DDOT provides a great learning opportunity for Cardozo High School students and will prepare a great pool of applicants for Metro’s technical jobs,” said Metro Board Chairman Gladys Mack. “The program challenges students in the classroom, gives them hands-on experience, and better prepares them for careers at Metro or in other technical professions after they graduate.”

The students take Introduction to Transportation and Principles of Technology in the 10^th grade. Eleventh graders take ElectroMechanical I and II. Metro instructors teach these courses at the high school.

During their senior year, the students will spend three hours a day, five days a week in a specially-designed lab course in advanced electronics and workplace safety at Metro’s Carmen E. Turner Training and Maintenance Facility in Landover, MD. The first lab class will begin next fall.

Students completing the ElectroMechanical Technology Training Program will be encouraged to apply for Metro’s Technical Skills Program–a paying apprenticeship-type program that trains individuals for rail, bus and elevator/escalator mechanic jobs at Metro. The knowledge acquired through the school-to-career program also may help the young graduates find jobs in other professions that require technical skills, specifically in the field of transportation maintenance.

DDOT is providing the funding for the Cardozo High School school-to-career program. Metro is administering the program, including curriculum development and course instruction. Metro’s training department has hired two instructors to teach the classes at the high school and the lab portion at Metro’s training facility. Cardozo High School established the entrance requirements and selected the students for the ElectroMechanical Technology Training Program.

The school-to-career technical training program links Cardozo High School and Metro in yet another unique learning opportunity for students. Since 1990, Metro has worked with the school’s TransTech Academy to provide paid internships for juniors and seniors. The students work at Metro three hours a day, five days a week for seven months. They gain valuable experience and work on a variety of projects throughout Metro.

News release issued on April 21, 2006.