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Reach Across Houston Classes
• Cisco Network Training
• Reach Across Houston is a Cisco Networking Regional Academy. Because vocational skills for the twenty-first century revolve around computer technology, especially in areas of information technology such as the Internet and networking systems, RAH has partnered with Cisco Systems, Inc., the nation's top supplier of networking hardware, to address the acute shortage of qualified professionals available to perform networking tasks required by Twenty-first Century businesses. Our alliance with Cisco Systems allows us to teach the curriculum leading to the Certified Cisco Networking Associate (CCNA) designation to people in the Houston area who are looking to enter the exciting field of information technology as a computer network technician. We believe we are the first community-based organization to ever become a Cisco Regional Academy. As such, RAH has created networking laboratories in ten inner-city schools in Houston connecting the schools with high-tech Cisco training. We teach Information Technology/Computer Science instructors at the schools a curriculum detailing the essential components of computer networking designed by Cisco. They, in turn, teach their students that same curriculum. As an integral part of our instruction, we have created a lab setting that closely corresponds to the real world. It has enabled students to get their hands on the building blocks of today's global information networks, learning by doing as they design and bring to life local and wide-area networks. Student projects are derived from the industry they will serve. The opportunity to learn an interesting and in-demand trade appeals to high school students who do not plan to attend a four-year educational institution, yet still desire the ability to earn competitive salaries. Although we are very excited by our connection to local students through the Cisco training, the main purpose of our involvement in the Cisco training program currently is to make this training available to the community-at-large. We are particularly interested in individuals in the lowest sectors of the economy who have traditionally been unable to pursue high tech jobs because of lack of training. Our experience working with low-income individuals is that quite often they have very limited experience with computers, if any at all. |
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