business backgrounder | education & workforce
“To see how much they’ve learned in so little
time is really incredible. They’ve grown not
only as students, but as people too.”
—Francisco Sarmiento, a 1997 program graduate who now
serves as its lead faculty member
a “peach tree borer,” wiggled from a halved apricot. They studied the
samples and compared the pests to photographs in their spiral-bound
textbooks.
Totally focused and eager to contribute to the discussion, the group
ranges in age from 21 to 58. All are current or former field workers. All
are Spanish-speaking men, although some women enter the program.
Most have aspirations to learn so they can move on to jobs that are less
strenuous but more interesting and with better pay.
“When you’re young, hard work seems easy, but over the years your
productivity declines and you have to develop other abilities,” said
40-year-old Jose Rodríguez of Royal City. He sa