Introduction to CTE

February 4th, 2019 /
Madison Bliss /
Centennial Middle, CTE, Dixon Middle, In the News, Independence High, News, Provo High, Schools, Secondary Schools, Timpview High

Career and Technology Education, or CTE, provides students with an educational pathway, driven by College and Career Readiness (CRR). Through these CTE courses, students get the opportunity to develop career awareness, explore career options and acquire necessary skills essential for employment in the workplace and/or continuation of higher education.

Lyndsay Huntsman, recently appointed CTE Director for the Provo City School District, advocates the need for for these CTE courses as they prepare the students for a career in a field with high demand. Students become a great asset to the workplace and have a greater advantage in the hiring process by acquiring a necessary skill set early on in their education.

Beginning in seventh grade, students in the Provo City School District, make their entrance into the CTE world by taking the required College and Career Awareness course. The aim of this course is to expose these seventh graders to different areas within CTE, discuss different careers within those areas and talk about the necessary college planning to work in a specific field. Many of the careers discussed fall under categories such as agriculture, family and consumer science, technology and engineering, health science, I.T. and business and marketing.

After completing this required course in seventh grade, students are encouraged to continue taking CTE courses throughout their middle and high school education. Doing so will help them explore more career options and hone in on the skills they have started to acquire. As the seventh graders advance to eighth grade, many choose to take classes in creative coding, digital literacy and family and consumer sciences. Upon entering high school, an even wider variety of courses open up for the students to explore. Classes such as welding, auto, woodworking and robotics all offer the opportunity to develop a new skill that will help make the students viable members of the workplace.

Many of the CTE courses in high school also qualify for concurrent enrollment, giving students college credit by participating in it. To help direct their learning experience, students can also get into a Career Pathway. A Career Pathway helps students narrow their focus and take courses related to each other in order to dial in on skills necessary for entry into a well-paying job. High schoolers can further prepare themselves for a career by participating in a Work-Based Learning CTE Internship where students receive hands-on career experience.

In the future, Huntsman expects a growth in the number of pathways and courses available for the students as well as a capstone program. This capstone program, already available in the Park City and Wasatch School Districts, would allow 11 and 12th grade students the opportunity to collaborate with businesses using project-based learning while developing skills in critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork.