By The City of Long Beach is adding to its focus on hospitality and tourism with the announcement of a new high school that will offer courses centered around these areas.
According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Long Beach will begin construction next year on a high school that aims to train students interested in careers in the hospitality and tourism industries.
Slated to host a student body of roughly 800, Browning High will cost approximately $45 million to build, according to the Press-Telegram.
Vivien Hao, communications coordinator for the Long Beach Unified School District’s Measure K Bond Program, believes Browning Hill will help fill a certain niche in the community.
“The proximity of the school to the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles makes it a good location for internships in the tourism industry,” Hao told the Press-Telegram. “The school is being designed for those career paths. These are high-growth career fields.”
Even though it is still in its planning stages, we have some questions about Browning High and the programs it will offer to students.
Will all students at Browning High be required to take hospitality and tourism courses?
Yes, preparing students for careers in hospitality and tourism could be a good thing.
If some high school students know that they want a career in these job fields, then Browning High could be a great opportunity for them.
However, offering hospitality and tourism courses to all students could have unforseen consequences.
We hope general education courses will also be offered at Browning High once it opens.
If all of the courses offered at Browning High are geared toward careers in hospitality and tourism, some adverse effects could arise.
Are students applying to Browning High ready to decide their careers at such a young age?
Additionally, Browning High needs to remember it’s not just a trade school. If it will be educating high school students, it should prepare them for college.
In order to produce well-rounded students, Browning High should give its students the best education possible, which means providing quality general education courses.
By offering hospitality and tourism courses to students at Browning High, the city could influence many local students to seek careers in such areas.
It’s easy to see that Long Beach has a growing tourism and hospitality industry, but we hope Browning High won’t be relied on to supplement Long Beach’s need for skilled workers in those fields.
If anything, at least we know students from Browning High will be good hosts.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an extremely long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up.
Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again.
Anyways, just wanted to say great blog!