Van Dyke’s CTE Programs Obtain Accreditation
While students at Lincoln High School, along with peers from three neighboring districts who are part of the Southwest Macomb Technical Education Consortium (SMTEC), have had the opportunity to take CTE classes in a variety of fields for many years, the benefit of participating in two of these classes just got even better.
For the first time since the program has been offered, the Lincoln High School Dental Assisting Program is now recognized by the Dental Assisting National Board (DANB). With this recognition the program can offer its students the National Entry Level Dental Assistant (NELDA) certification. Students have to complete three components to test; Infection Control, Anatomy & Physiology, and Radiation Health & Safety. This certification is going to help many students who are pursuing a career as a dental assistant. In addition to the NELDA certification, all first-year Dental students are CPR certified and second-year students become OSHA certified, as well. Students who complete both Dental Assisting classes are eligible to take the NELDA certification test and must pass it to receive the certification. Many Lincoln students are very excited for this opportunity since they will be able to obtain these certifications before they even graduate high school. The Van Dyke Dental Assisting Program is taught by Jamie Lipiec, a registered dental hygienist. Mrs. Lipiec has helped numerous students gain employment in the dental field both before and after graduation and this new certification will allow her to help even more students.
The Dental Program wasn’t the only program to be recognized with accreditation this year in Van Dyke. Every five years the Automotive Program has
to get recertified with the National Automotive Technology Education Foundation (NATEF). NATEF examines the structure and resources of training programs and evaluates them against nationally accepted standards of quality. The NATEF evaluation process ensures that accredited training programs meet or exceed industry-recognized, uniform standards of excellence.
In order to maintain certification, the Automotive Program must be inspected by Automotive Service Excellence (ASE). During the on-site inspection the Automotive Program must show records for all inventory, curriculum, equipment maintenance, student placement and instructor training. This year, the Van Dyke Automotive Program received re-certification after earning excellent marks during the inspection. The NATEF accreditation allows students to take the ASE certification assessment. Upon
passing the test, students receive a certificate good for two years that states that they have learned and
mastered the basic repairs of maintenance and light repair. Under the guidance of instructor, Ron Maher, certified master mechanic, 25% of the Auto II students have already passed their ASE test during the pretest phase, so they will not need any additional test to earn the certificate this year.