Career and technical education: 北卡罗莱纳 public schools’ best kept secret
如果你有社交媒体, you have probably come across an image like this at some point while scrolling. For the vast majority of 北卡罗莱纳’s students, this rings true. 然而, 这些技能, 还有更多, are being taught in every school district across the state of 北卡罗莱纳 via Career and Technical 教育 (CTE) courses.
在2017-2018学年, 904,040 students were enrolled in the plethora of CTE courses offered across the state. 在2016-2017学年， 超过99,000名学生 获得州CTE证书. 在北卡罗来纳州, we currently have 16 career clusters for our CTE courses. 它们是:
- 农业、食品 & 自然资源
- 体系结构 & 建设
- 艺术，影音技术 & 通信
- 企业管理 & 政府
- 教育 & 培训
- 金融
- 政府 & 公共管理
- 健康科学
- 热情好客 & 旅游
- 人类服务
- 信息技术
- 法律，公共安全，矫正 & 安全
- 制造业
- 市场营销
- 科学、技术、工程 & 数学
- 运输、配送 & 物流
为什么CTE学员不像大学生那样普遍?
Following World War II, mindsets began shifting around the issue of higher education. 突然之间，所有的孩子都需要大学教育. 随着婴儿潮一代进入大学年龄, 我们看到这种转变在增加, which made CTE courses less “prestigious” than courses like Advance Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) for students. 父母, 老师, and students were under the impression that in order to be successful, 大学是关键. 多年来, we have tracked students into college bound courses — even if that did not best align with their interests or goals — all because our kids deserve the “best.“然而, with over half of the fastest growing jobs being jobs that do not require a bachelor’s degree, 而是需要培训, 认证, or associate’s degrees — being college bound is not necessarily the “best” option anymore. CTE concentrators will be the people best equipped for these careers and will be ready sooner than students who proceed to college and then decide to pursue one of these careers.我们如何把学生送到那里?
近年来, CTE has been emphasized across districts with the opening of CTE-focused high schools all over the state. 目前, 北卡罗来纳州有50多所以cte为重点的高中, many of which include partnerships with the local community college and/or industry partners. These schools allow students to truly focus on education related directly to their future careers. In traditional high schools, students still have a plethora of options. High schools have the opportunity to offer unique programming that best aligns with their students’ interests and the opportunities within the community. 在16条通路中, 大多数高中都会提供多种途径, 在每个类中都有多个级别, 通常包括荣誉级别的课程. 另外, State Superintendent Mark Johnson recently issued a request for proposals to expand CTE in 北卡罗莱纳 by “prioritizing the inclusion of students in sixth and seventh grade through grant awards provided to selected local school administrative units for up to seven years.” Districts like Mount Airy City Schools are embarking on this expansion already, 努力创造一个 “职业探索文化” 适合六年级到八年级的学生.我们需要做些什么来吸引我们的学生 数控作业准备就绪?
Our students are 北卡罗莱纳’s biggest hope to make the state and our population “NC作业准备就绪.” In order for this to become a reality there are several things we need to do. 在2009年职业和技术教育战略计划, June Atkinson wrote “When looking at how we can change public education to better prepare and train our workforce, there is great value in taking [an] approach in which every student establishes goals and maps out a personalized route that will lead to his or her future career.” The first thing we need to do is encourage students to pursue paths that align with their interests and lead to success. For some students that is college but for many students it is CTE courses as career concentrators. We need to remove the stigma surrounding students choosing options other than college. We need to put funding and attention into making our students job ready. That includes things like enough counselors to help guide students along their journey. It includes funding and resources for classrooms that serve all students, 不仅仅是大学生. 它包括教育我们的社区(家长), 老师, 社区成员)对我们学生的选择. I encourage students to explore the opportunities that CTE offers. I encourage 老师 and parents to help students explore those opportunities. I encourage CTE 老师 to be loud and proud of the amazing things going on within your programs and classrooms. And I encourage our elected officials to learn more about what your districts offer and be a community partner for your CTE programs.As industry leaders continue to look at 北卡罗莱纳 as an option for business growth, we must have a population ready to meet the demands of the jobs of the future.职业技术教育是我们实现这一目标的最大希望. No longer can CTE in 北卡罗莱纳 be one of our “best kept secrets.”
