Three years ago, Santiago Romero moved from Colombia to Patterson, a city of about 24,000 people in California’s Central Valley. Like most high school students, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. Then he enrolled in his high school's logistics program.
Romero said it taught him how to manage inventory, ship orders and run a working school district warehouse. Now, he added, he plans to spend his career in supply chain and logistics.
"When I first enrolled into this class, for me it was a new world," Romero said. "It opened up a lot of experience for me."
Romero is one of hundreds of students enrolled in the Career Technical Education program at Patterson High School. The program offers pathways in fields including logistics, cosmetology, agriculture, patient care and commercial trucking. It's open to all students at no cost. The district says the program is largely funded through state grants designed to support career education programs.
Alongside teaching practical skills, it helps students earn the industry certifications and licenses that make them hireable the moment they graduate.
"We want to make sure that they're career ready," said Kim Brinkman, the program's director. "Because regardless of if they go to college, they're still going to need to be career ready. They're going to need to have those professional skills."
The school district identified Patterson as a regional distribution hub years ago and built the CTE program to match the local labor market. The city sits along Interstate 5 between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and now hosts distribution centers for Amazon, CVS, Grainger and Kohl’s among others. Grainger alone brought more than 2,000 jobs to Patterson when it opened its facility there in 2012.
Students at Patterson High School watch as classmates operate forklifts during a forklift certification class in Patterson, Calif., on Thursday, April 30, 2026. The class is part of the school's Career Technical Education program.Greg Micek/CapRadio
Reyes Gauna, the district's superintendent, said those companies prioritize hiring students who complete the program.
"If they go through our program and get our certification, they put them at the top of the pile of their hiring," Gauna said.
Real certifications, real jobs
Each pathway in the CTE program is designed around industry-recognized credentials. Students don't just learn how to operate a forklift. They earn certifications through Ives Training, a nationally recognized program. Cosmetology and barbering students can complete the 1,000 hours of practical training required to sit for their California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology license before they graduate. Patient care students can earn certifications from the American Red Cross and the National Healthcareer Association.
The supply chain and logistics pathway offers Lean Six Sigma white, yellow, and green belt certifications. The agriculture pathway offers Ag Align certifications across multiple disciplines. Nearly every pathway includes OSHA-10 workplace safety certification.
Brinkman said the focus on certifications is intentional.
"Students learn the basics of an industry, but they also have the industry certifications and the skills to prove to a future employer that they actually know what they're talking about," she said.
The program holds quarterly and biannual advisory committee meetings with industry professionals to make sure the curriculum stays current. Brinkman said it's a constant feedback loop between educators and the industries that hire their students.
A college pathway
Gauna said the program isn't a replacement for college. It's an alternative path that can also fund a college education.
"Several of our students are working for CVS and Grainger, and they're not just working for them. They're supervisors, they're leaders, and they're continuing their education," Gauna said.
Brinkman said one graduate worked for FedEx straight out of high school as one of the program's first interns. She paid for her undergraduate degree while working there. Now she's been accepted into UC Davis Medical School, and FedEx is helping pay for that, too.
"She's going to graduate with zero college debt," Brinkman said.
David Kastiro, who graduated from Patterson High’s trucking program in 2020, now drives a sleeper truck for Walmart. He's one of two graduates who became some of the youngest drivers in Walmart history. Both were hired at 21. Walmart drivers can earn around $135,000 a year, and the company is paying for Kastiro to earn a bachelor's degree in supply chain and logistics management.
"This is great to pay for your education if you want to go to college," Kastiro said. "Walmart's covering my whole bachelor's degree. I don't have to pay a penny."
Big rig trucks sit parked outside the commercial trucking classrooms at Patterson High School in Patterson, Calif., on Thursday, April 30, 2026. Students in the school's truck driving program use the rigs for hands-on training exercises.Greg Micek/CapRadio
The trucking program
The trucking pathway is one of the program's flagship offerings. It's run by Dave Dein, who has been in the trucking industry since 1988 and co-founded the Next Generation Trucking Association.
The program doesn't teach behind-the-wheel driving on campus. Instead, students complete 180 hours of classroom instruction and 30 hours on driving simulators. After completing the program, students take behind-the-wheel training through a partnership with a private truck driving school. They can earn their commercial learner's permit at 18 and use it for seasonal work or full-time jobs.
Dein said the focus is on more than just teaching students to drive a truck.
"Teaching somebody just how to drive a truck is really irresponsible unless you teach the mindset first," Dein said. "This is an 80,000 pound vehicle. It's a rolling bomb. If you don't get this right first, you're going to have a disaster."
The curriculum also includes Truckers Against Trafficking certification, financial literacy, health and nutrition, and Worklete, a program that teaches proper body movements to reduce workplace injuries. Dein said the goal is to prepare students for long, healthy careers.
"I see our graduates being the next leaders in trucking," he said. "And you can't lead anything unless you know what's going on around you."
Other pathways
The cosmetology and barbering pathway operates a fully functioning salon on campus where seniors provide hair, nail, beard, facial, and makeup services to the public. Students who reach the 1,000-hour licensure threshold before graduation have their first state board exam fee paid by the school.
The agriculture pathway includes ornamental horticulture, animal science, agriscience, and ag welding and fabrication. Students enrolled in the pathway are automatically members of the National FFA Organization and participate in events at the Stanislaus County Fair.
The patient care pathway covers medical terminology, human anatomy, and patient care. Students can earn certification as a Patient Care Technician through the National Healthcareer Association.
Looking ahead
The district is planning to expand its CTE offerings to middle school. An agriculture program will start in seventh and eighth grade next year.
"The more that you can expose kids to opportunities and different programs, the better educated our kids are when it's time for them to decide, what do I want to do with my life?" Gauna said.
For students like Romero, the program has already answered Gauna's question. It also answered one Romero brought with him from Colombia.
"What I want to do is dedicate my life to logistics," he said. "And it's all because of this program."
