Students get acquainted with county CTE programs
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) hosted its first two-day Career and Technology Education (CTE) Student Exploration Showcase last week at the College of Southern Maryland’s La Plata campus, where eighth graders were introduced to numerous CTE programs that are offered at all high schools within CCPS.
More than 2,100 eighth graders attended the showcase, held Oct. 29-30, during the day as part of a field trip and learned about scholarships and career opportunities from CCPS students who are currently enrolled in the CTE programs. Presenters, which included CTE students from all seven high schools as well as other students from the Robert D. Stethem Educational Center, spoke about their experiences, according to a CCPS press release.
The event was split into two sections which included a staff presentation portion and separate showcase for the CTE program. During the showcase, students had 45 minutes to rotate through different CTE program tables to talk with student presenters about their program of choice. Each eighth grader was given a tracking sheet to use for taking notes and then ranked their top four CTE program choices.
“The showcase allowed students to learn and experience all 29 CTE pathways through a presentation and interactive demonstrations from currently enrolled students,” said Rebecca Pearson, a CTE specialist for the school system. “The overall goal is to increase awareness of all the CTE pathways throughout the county for all eighth graders.”
The showcase was also a time for CTE students to shine as representatives of their respective programs. Student presenters served as program ambassadors as they spoke with middle school students about program-specific curriculum, available certifications and future job opportunities, the press release noted.
Pearson said the goal is to increase overall awareness for those students who are preparing to plan for high school.
“In the past, CTE staff traveled to each middle school to give the information and presentation. This year, we wanted to add the impact of students being able to experience the programs in a handson fashion and to hear from our high school students enrolled in the programs,” CCPS CTE instructional specialist Carrie Akins said. “We believe that the chance to hear about the programs from older peers will have a lasting impact on the eighth grade students.”
Students from Theodore G. Davis, John Hanson, Matthew Henson and Piccowaxen middle schools attended on Oct. 29. The Oct. 30th showcase included eighth grade visitors from Mattawoman, General Smallwood, Milton M. Somers and Benjamin Stoddert middle schools.
Prior to attending last week’s CTE showcase, students participated in a lesson with their grade-level counselors about CTE and will complete a follow-up lesson to research their top CTE program choices.
“My first choice is the biomed program because I am interested in medicine and science,” said Samantha Mason, an eighth grader from Davis Middle School who was most impressed with presenters from the Project Lead the Way Biomedical Sciences program. “I learned a lot here today. I learned about all of the options available to me next year.”
Mason explored the CTE showcase with her friend and fellow classmate, Kaelynn Tellez, who said she likes to cook and plans to apply to the culinary arts program offered at North Point High School. Tellez’s second choice will either be biotechnology or biomedical engineering.
“It is interesting because a lot [of students] already have an idea of what they want to do,” said La Plata High School senior Ja’Dell Webster, a member of the Education Rising! local chapter who spoke to eighth graders about the Teacher Academy of Maryland program along with three of his classmates. “We have had a lot of kids stop by and talk to us about why teaching is fun.”
North Point High School senior Gennifer Newby, who is vice group commander of the school’s Air Force Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (AFJROTC) program, said she enjoyed sharing her perspective on JROTC with the eighth graders.
Newby said she chose the JROTC route in high school after watching her siblings advance through the program. She encouraged eighth graders to consider joining the program because it helps prepare students for life after high school.
“Students should go in [to JROTC] with an open mind. It might be something they like to do,” Newby said. “Some think they might not be a good fit because they are shy, but the program really helps you learn how to open up and work with others.”
Plans are underway to offer the CTE again next school year. This is the first year that CCPS provided an opportunity for students to learn about CTE programs as they begin to transition from middle to high school.
CTE program choices that are currently available for all high school students in CCPS and at the Stethem Educational Center include arts, media and communications; business management and finance; construction and development; consumer services, hospitality and tourism; health and biosciences; human resources services; information technology; manufacturing, engineering and technology; and transportation technologies.
Benefits for participating in the CTE program include possible industry certifications, increase in starting salaries with experience, potential for an increase in scholarship opportunities and/or college credit and opportunities to learn about teamwork and leadership through hands-on training, the CCPS press release also noted.
For more information about CTE programs, go to www.ccboe.com/ cte/index.php.