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Credit: Amani Abuhabsah-Ghusein
Education Dive
Districts launch CTE programs geared toward middle school
Shawna De La Rosa
Aug. 21, 2019
Dive Brief:
Exposing students to career and technical education options as early as
middle school can help them better identify areas of interest and map
out an educational path, District Administration reports.
Districts can use grant funds to hold summer courses that introduce
middle school students to different types of technical fields, with
counselors playing a key role in helping guide students toward which
classes to take in high school.
In Everett, Washington, where the economy is dominated by Boeing and
aerospace manufacturing, Edmonds School District’s middle school
program features education in the engineering and manufacturing
industries, with courses aimed at better preparing them for high school
CTE courses in high school.
Dive Insight:
Students start thinking about what they want to be when they grow up
early in life, and these ideas are typically related to a career
they’ve been exposed to one way or another. That’s why there are so
many 4-year-old future policemen and firefighters running around.
Introducing already curious middle school students to career paths
allows them to put deeper thought into potential areas of exploration
earlier on.
The 2018 passage of the updated Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical
Education Improvement Act also allows districts to use federal funds on
middle school CTE courses. Some districts are even letting 8th-graders
select career clusters with the hope that students will be more driven
to finish school if they're provided a work-related end-goal.
For example, Charleston 8th-graders who took a health science
technology program are informed that if they become, say, an emergency
medical technician, they will make about $32,670 a year. They also know
that they need to graduate from high school and achieve a literacy
score of 1250.
Some districts are even exposing elementary school students to career
exploration opportunities, with California's Chula Vista Elementary
School District, for example, teaming up with businesses and community
groups to develop tools geared toward young students.
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