Willamette Career Academy’s dental program had a waitlist months before it had any teachers or equipment.
The 30 slots for local high schoolers to learn dental assisting beginning this fall filled quickly. But it wasn’t just students waiting.
Joe Morelock, superintendent of the Willamette Education Service District, said dental practices were calling dibs on future graduates last spring, 18 months before anyone would earn certification.
“I wish I had already given some numbers to figure out a lottery system,” he said at a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the Salem academy Thursday, drawing laughs.
The education service district operates Willamette Career Academy, which takes high school juniors and seniors from districts across Marion and Polk county for hands-on classes in seven in-demand trades, including construction, diesel technology and cosmetology.
Jobs for dental assistants and hygienists in Oregon are expected to grow more than 12% by 2032, according to the Oregon Employment Department. About 888 dental assistant jobs are open each year statewide.
Students were quick to sign up.
“We didn’t even have a room or equipment or teacher or assistants or pictures,” Morelock said. “That’s the level of interest and desire in these opportunities. Oregon students need even more of these opportunities now.”
John Spencer, CEO of the Newberg-based dental equipment manufacturer DCI, worked with education service district leaders to start the program. Both the company and the Spencer Family Foundation donated equipment and money to get the program off the ground. A state grant also helped cover some of the $1 million in startup costs.
“All our kids can’t be doctors, they can’t be lawyers, and on the other hand, they can’t all work at McDonalds. And we need these kinds of programs to create well-paying jobs that can make a difference in this world,” Spencer said at the ribbon cutting.
Willamette Career Academy opened in 2021 with about 200 students in three programs. It now has 355 students enrolled.
Students are bussed to the career academy from their high schools and spend a half day there, five days per week. The academy lets students from many smaller and rural districts in Marion and Polk counties get career education with state-of-the-art equipment that their home schools wouldn’t be able to provide.
Originally, the former Toys R Us store on Northeast Lancaster Drive was remodeled to house six career programs. But the information technology classes didn’t take up as much space as planners anticipated, said principal Alan Kirby.
That left room for another program.
Morelock, who became superintendent a year ago, previously worked in Newberg and knew the Spencer family.
He talked to them about opening a dental assisting program and worked with them to get it off the ground in about 10 months.
The new space has six dental operatories for students to practice. Curriculum during the first year will focus on dental anatomy, infection control, interacting with patients and other key skills, Kirby said.
Second-year students will spend much of their time in the field, working in real dental offices. Next year, the dental program will have space for 60 students.
Audrey Ritchie, a senior at Stayton High School, is among the students who will make use of the new space. She said she’s usually smiling, whether she’s happy or sad, and wants to help people take care of their teeth.
“Teeth are very important to you and your body,” she said.
Many of her classmates at Stayton attend the career academy. When she saw the program was opening, she decided to apply to pursue her goal of becoming a dental hygienist. She learned from her school counselor last spring that she’d been accepted.
“I was so excited,” she said.
Morelock said he hopes the program will inspire similar efforts across the state. He called on the state to spend more on career and technical education programs, saying Washington and many other states do far more to pay for such opportunities for high schoolers.
“Right now, we are at a critical time for solutions to workforce and economic development in the state of Oregon,” he said. “Every student in Oregon deserves a chance to explore their futures in deep, meaningful ways, and industries deserve to have students who are well trained and educated and are ready to join their team to help make their business, their clinic, or their school even more successful.”
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
