By Anthony Gorges
JC Post
The Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at Junction City High School aims to help students address what they want to do when they graduate. Whether it be continuing their education in college, joining the military, or going straight to the workforce, the CTE program works with every student inside the halls of JCHS.
Kale Katt is the CTE coordinator. He explained what the program intends to do and why this program is in schools. “In a short phrase, CTE prepares students for a wide range of high wage, high skill, and high demand careers,” Kale Katt said.
The Career and Technical Education program offers 15 different career pathways. After students finish their freshman year, based on their individual plan of study, their career interest inventory, and what they might want to do, they are placed into an academy. “Every single student is grouped with like-minded or similar career orientated students, and each student will have opportunities to take hands-on courses and earn industry recognized credentials for when they graduate high school,” Katt said.
Within the Career and Technical Education program, several local businesses in the community play a key role in providing hands-on work opportunities for the high school students. According to Kale Katt, each of the 15 pathways within the program has its own advisory committee. The committees consist of business and industry leaders who speak to teachers and classes and explain what is happening in their industry.
Along with hands on experiences, and career focused classes, job shadows and internships is also a part of the program. That is where the local businesses can step in. Internships can be paid or unpaid. Either way, the student still receives high school credit. “One of our goals is to keep our kids in the community,” Katt said. “If a student goes out with a solid foundation of knowledge, and has a very positive internship experience, and our business partner also has a positive experience, it really is our goal that one day our student may come back and be employed.”
The Career and Technical Education program is beginning to work with eighth grade students, and Katt said the hope is this process will eventually start at the elementary school level.