Bringing college to the community: Eastside Training Center opens doors

High school students are the first to benefit from an innovative program designed to meet the needs of Tacoma’s Eastside community

By Jean Borst

It takes under 20 minutes to make the 7-mile drive from Tacoma’s Eastside neighborhood to the Lakewood campus of Clover Park Technical College (CPTC). The same trip by bus takes nearly 2 hours. Without access to reliable or affordable transportation – many Eastside residents are cut off from career and workforce training offered through CPTC.

The Eastside Training Center is a major step in bridging that gulf and connecting workers with quality, high-demand jobs.

“Clover Park Technical College is here to provide workforce knowledge and skills to everyone in Pierce County, and that includes the residents of Eastside Tacoma,” CPTC President Dr. Joyce Loveday said. “The Eastside Training Center brings our services directly to the community, offering the same high level of curriculum, instruction and equipment offered on our Lakewood campus.”

Vision to reality

The Eastside Training Center evolved from CPTC’s participation in the Good Jobs, Great Cities Academy in 2023-2024. Tacoma was one of 16 U.S. cities selected for the initiative, designed to help cities fast-track their efforts to design, develop and launch workforce initiatives that lead to good jobs – especially for residents from historically underserved and underrepresented communities. Data showed that Eastside Tacoma was primed for educational investment.

To move the vision of bringing educational opportunities to the neighborhood into reality, CPTC formed a focus group led by Dean of Automotive and Trades Lester Burkes. Members included Celva Boon, Director of Student Aid and Scholarships; Deysi Martinez, Director of Outreach and Entry Services; Haleigh Phillips, Student Success Instructor; Luke Ruiz, Manager of Student Diversity Programs; and Zoraida Valdovinos, Student Diversity Outreach Manager. (While Valdovinos and Martinez have since left the college, they played key roles in launching the project.)

As the group considered plausible locations to house the training center, the closing of Tacoma-based cabinet and counter manufacturer Founder’s Choice opened the door to a win-win opportunity. The space at 6002 McKinley Ave. was a perfect fit for what CPTC envisioned, and Founder’s Choice owner David Sizemore was eager to see his manufacturing business become something that could benefit the Eastside community. He was also willing to gradually lease small portions of the facility to CPTC, making the project affordable and sustainable.   

Navigating a significant hiccup

After that initial smooth start, a months-long delay in securing Title IV accreditation for the new training site from the U.S. Department of Education threw an unexpected wrench into the mix. Without Title IV status, the college was unable to offer federal financial aid or accept federal benefits, such as the G.I. Bill®, to students and veterans wishing to earn credit at the Eastside Training Center, making it harder for people to afford tuition. Official notice of the approval was conveyed to CPTC on April 15, 2025, allowing the college to immediately begin accepting federal aid from students wishing to pursue education at the new site.

To keep the project on track, CPTC decided to open the center to nearby high school students in the Running Start program and those enrolled at Northwest Career & Technical High School (NWCTHS), (both programs are tuition-free) and to students who were not reliant upon financial aid. In January, the Eastside Training Center began offering Electrician Low Voltage Fire/Security program classes for a small cohort of students. Enrollment has continued to grow with the spring 2025 addition of the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)/Refrigeration program. A Construction Technology program cohort is slated for summer or fall quarter, depending on interest and enrollment.

High schoolers enrolled at the training center have some substantial advantages during this early phase of the project, according to NWCTHS Associate Director Dr. Amy Robertson-Bullen. “Students can expect smaller class sizes, fewer distractions and more one-on-one instruction – even more than we already offer on the CPTC campus.”

Now that Title IV approval has come through, the center will begin serving adult students and gradually expand its workforce training programs. 

Proven partners are key

CPTC’s workforce partners, including WorkForce Central, Palmer Scholars, Emerald Cities Collaborative Northwest and ANEW, are crucial to the center’s success.

“The main reason people come to CPTC is to get an education that enables them to enter the workforce at a little higher level,” Burkes said. “Our partners share that same vision and have a proven track record for providing those same opportunities.”

That means CPTC and its partners will continue to support students after they complete their programs, connecting them with employers or people and resources in the community that can help them achieve their goals. To address one of the biggest barriers to employment, the Pierce County Central Labor Council is developing an extended-hours childcare center that will serve Eastside residents who work nontraditional hours. Earlier this year, the City of Tacoma secured a $10,000 grant to kickstart the project, which will transform the former Willard Elementary School into this much-needed facility.

Through a community lens

With workforce partnerships in place, the focus now shifts to building relationships within the community – and sending the message that the Eastside Training Center is not providing prescriptive educational opportunities.

“We are not going to tell the community what it needs to be successful,” Burkes said. “We want to provide people with workforce education and training in programs they feel passionate about and want to pursue.”

“Academia can sometimes be very rigid,” Robertson-Bullen said. “This is a rare opportunity for CPTC and its partners to delve into more creative solutions and let what unfolds guide the process. We’re all looking at this through a community lens.”

Anyone interested in taking classes at or becoming a partner for the Eastside Training Center can learn more at www.cptc.edu/eastside.