By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

                Hayden Asbell was the only high school student in Florida to complete two certificate programs this year that could launch his career in water treatment and wastewater treatment soon after he graduates from Bronson Middle High School.

            Asbell, son of School Board Chairman Cameron Asbell and his wife Melissa, finished the course work in both the Water treatment program and Wastewater Treatment Certificate Program offered through Gateway College in Lake City.

            He is eligible to sit for examinations to receive his Class C Water Treatment Certification and the Wastewater Treatment Certifications. He is leaning toward a career in wastewater which he said pays the best wages.

            Hayden was recognized by the Levy County School Board Tuesday for his accomplishments. The online certificate courses included field trips to water and wastewater treatment facilities in the tri-county area.

            Three students, Robert Taylor, James Pyatt, and Jeremiah Alvarez earned the water treatment certificate, but Hayden Asbell stands alone as the only high school student in Florida to pass both courses in a challenging academic program that required doing some tricky math.

            “The courses were not necessarily designed for high school students. They were designed for industry. Gov. Ron DeSantis asked state colleges to work to create these rapid credentialing programs,” said Carol Jones-Dubois, retiring Career and Technical Education Coordinator for the Levy County School District.

            Jones said the University of Florida spearheaded the program, creating the curriculum using an existing program from Sacramento, California. The Levy County School District signed an agreement with Gateway College in Lake City to run the program. Hayden earned six college credits by passing both certification programs. He could earn an Associate in Science degree from Gateway if he decides to go that route.

            Jones will retire Friday. She has served Levy County schools as a teacher and administrator for 38 years.

            She said the coursework wasn’t easy and because there was no instructor the students taking the classes needed to be disciplined to work online without a teacher and stay on pace. A reading instructor and a college math professor were brought in as guest speakers.

            “They talked to the math professor. The math was a little tricky. He gave them some advice on which formula to remember for each area,” Jones-Dubois said.

            Jones-Dubois said the rapid certification program was brought to her attention by another staff member who may have received it by accident. Instead of deleting it, the second staff member forwarded the email to Jones who wasn’t sure what to make of it. She didn’t know if it was spam, but she called the phone number to find out if a real person would answer the phone. She found out the rapid certification program was new, it was real, it was backed by the governor and it was a good fit for Levy County.

            She said Bronson Middle High School Principal Curtis Gaus was the driving force behind the success of the certification program.

            “Mr. Gaus is a huge advocate of CTE (Career Technical Education). I mean this man believes in it like nobody’s business, so he worked with the guidance counselor in Bronson and they found about 16 students. We ended up with six students. Four of those students completed at least one of the courses. Hayden completed both courses,” Jones-Dubois said.

            She said the field trips got the students excited. On one trip, she was driving students to a field site in a van. She knew they were listening to some type of music and she hoped the music didn’t have any bad words. They told her to relax.

            “They said it’s just good old music. It’s 80’s music,” Jones-Dubois said.

            What was the best part of the trip? Hayden was asked.

            “Miss Jones came out with the Gap Band,” he said drawing laughter.

            They visited the Chiefland water plant and spoke with Water and Facilities Manager Shane Keene who has a Class B license. Keen operates the city’s water system.

            Hayden was asked what he thought of Chiefland’s water treatment system. He said it isn’t complicated. The water is excellent.

            “They got nothing. They pour chlorine in the water,” he said, drawing more laughter.

            “Don’t tell the world out there we got the best water in Chiefland,” Jones-Dubois responded.

            Who has the biggest problem with water? Hayden was asked.

            “Probably Cross City. They’ve got a lot of low-lying areas,” he responded.

            What about Cedar Key?

            “I looked at the water. They got the reverse osmosis there,” Hayden responded. Reverse osmosis is a water purification system.

            James McCain, who operates the Cedar Key water and wastewater plants, has 42 years on the job. He met with students, pulled a sample, spun it in a centrifuge, and allowed students to look through a microscope.

            Jones-Dubois pointed out that McCain is nearing retirement. She said he has an understudy working with him, but she pointed out that there is high demand for people with Hayden’s skills.

            She said the rapid certification program provides unique opportunities for students to learn skills while in high school that they can use to find jobs as soon as they graduate.

            “It’s a unique opportunity for our students to do something that we don’t really have the staff, the facilities, or the budget to offer this type of program,” she said. “These programs will provide students with the skills to go straight to work in high-demand areas. Several other areas are coming on board in nutrition and hospitality and apprenticeships.”

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School Board of Levy County Regular Meeting May 25, 2021; Posted Mary 27, 2021