With bicycle wheels revolving and blood flowing quickly to his face, Quinn Seward makes the transition from his first period Greenhouse 1 class on the ECO campus to his third period AP English Literature and Composition class at Santa Fe High.

Quinn is involved in a new “intra-district exchange program,” launched this year, that offers select vocational electives at Early College Opportunities High School (ECO) to interested students from both Capital and Santa Fe high schools with the intention of providing trades education to Santa Fe teens.

The ECO campus, on Zia Road, connected to the southern edge of Santa Fe High, was once a part of the Santa Fe High campus. ECO broke off from the larger high school in 2016 with the objective of catering to trades-oriented students who may not have flourished in traditional high school electives through dual-credit vocational courses.

Santa Fe and Capital juniors and seniors who complete interviews with ECO staff are eligible to take courses in greenhouse operations, welding, auto tech, construction, and auto collision.

Trades classes such as these provide students with skills and knowledge that they may otherwise not be capable of attaining in traditional educational environments.

ECO principal Mr. Rhine says, “If students are looking to enter the trades after high school, these classes can help prepare them.”

Similarly, SFHS principal Mr. Vincent calls attention to the benefits of a possibly symbiotic relationship: “We don’t have welding here, but they [have] welding there. And we have AP courses here… So why not have a partnership and let students pick?”

ECO lead teacher Mr. Coriz, who teaches the automotive collision and body classes, explains that such courses generate “real life, hands-on skills that students can use from day to day.” Mr. Coriz emphasizes that trades electives often pave the way for students to enter long-term “high paying, skilled careers.”

Because these courses are career-focused, students are often highly motivated. As a result, students in the new exchange program are more engaged in their chosen elective, “They are actually starting off as the more focused students,” said Mr. Coriz.

Quinn Seward’s class is part of ECO’s greenhouse program, which explores various growing methods such as aquaponics and hydroponics, both methods of germinating plants in water, though aquaponics utilizes fish in a symbiotic system. 

Quinn demonstrates another way in which trades classes and the skills they offer have the potential to prepare students for their future: “When I retire I’ll have a farm,” he says, “Greenhouse stuff could be applicable to my life and my future.”

Incorporating ECO into the SFHS and Capital systems has required a great deal of collaboration and adaptation from all sides, beginning with the district-wide bell schedule.  

This year’s schedule was implemented to accommodate the new exchange program, which allows ECO students to take some of their core classes at Santa Fe High. For example, ECO’s sophomore world history and senior English language arts classes are being taught by SFHS teachers Ms. Rutledge and Mr. Langley, respectively. 

“I definitely like working with students from all over,” Mr. Langley says, “The more diversity, the better!” 

This is quite the change for the ECO students, who prior had become accustomed to their small campus and ECO’s teaching style. These students are adjusting to Santa Fe High and, according to Mr. Langley, “find it fun making new friends and seeing what life is like for Demons.”

An ECO student in one of these classes who wishes to remain anonymous states, “The majority of the class is having a difficult time adjusting,” referring to the different teaching style in the Santa Fe High classes.

Mr. Langley calls attention to the trek these students must make in the relatively short passing period, as Quinn’s bike ride illustrates. He says, “A lot of them walk here from ECO first thing in the morning, and I’m wondering how well that will work in the winter.” 

Those involved in organizing the program, such as Mr. Rhine and Mr. Coriz, expect to see the student exchange expand in coming years, provided that interest persists. 

Mr. Coriz hopes that in the years to come new courses will be offered, such as electrical, plumbing, cosmetology, and HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) classes. He says wants to “mainly just expand and get more tech classes down here.”

Additionally, Mr. Coriz feels it would be beneficial to the future of the exchange program, and to ECO itself, if the school’s name better emphasized the vocational nature of the classes and de-emphasized the “early college” component of the school. He observes that the school’s name turns off those kids who aren’t interested in strictly academic classes. 

“I think it’d be a good idea for our campus to be renamed,” he says, “because a lot of people from the community, as well as students, don’t realize that we are a vocational campus…. More students in the community would understand what’s really going on here.” 

Mr. Rhine adds, “Giving [students] the opportunity to be exposed to these skills in high school is very important to me.”