High school teachers get career and tech ed training
For the first time, Yuma Union High School District implemented a Career & Technical Education (CTE)-specific training before the start of the school year.
To help prepare for the new school season, a YUHSD news release stated, the district conducted technology and best practices training for 17 new CTE teachers in July.
YUHSD officials said the trainings were for teachers direct from program-related industry positions and were conducted by CTE Technology Coach Melissa Johnson at the YUHSD CTE office and the Arizona CTE Premier Series at Arizona Western College.
“Because CTE instructors come from industry, but not usually the education pathway, it is essential for us to give them the tools they need to manage a classroom of students and interactive labs,” YUHSD CTE Director Lorie Honeycutt said in a statement.
The AZ Premier Series course description states teachers will take away the following from the session:
“This course is an introduction to the design and use of CTE curriculum. In this highly engaging course teachers will focus on the design and delivery of relevant and engaging lessons. Special emphasis is placed on active participation strategies, a strong introduction to each lesson, clear and appropriate objective(s), a variety of ways to meet the objective(s), and closure to assess learning.”
Additionally, the description states that teachers were given resources:
“These strategies will be woven across the entire workshop. All participants whose districts are members of the AZ CTE Curriculum Consortium and who complete both days of this workshop will receive password-protected access to the AZ CTE Curriculum Consortium with its 3500+ bank of outstanding lesson plans for more than 20 CTE courses written by Arizona CTE teachers. This course is excellent for every teacher.”
According to the YUHSD news release, the CTE program has expanded every year, with student enrollment in at least one CTE course growing from 4,184 to 6,845, a 64 percent increase.
In total, the district has more than 27 CTE approved programs across all six of its campuses, ranging from cosmetology to agriculture to welding, YUHSD officials say.