Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools issued the following announcement on Feb. 14.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) month is a public awareness campaign that takes place every February to celebrate the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across the country.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools wants to ensure that every student is ready for the next steps after high school, whether that step is college, career or military service. CTE helps prepare students who want to embark on a career trajectory while still in high school. Students can choose from more than 20 pathways, each with three to four sequenced courses. Some pathways can result in industry certifications while still in high school, and others provide early credit toward a post-secondary degree.
“We serve about 53,000 students grades 6-12,” said Susan Gann-Carroll, director of CTE. “Many of the pathways focus on the top five areas in Charlotte that are hiring – business and finance, health care, advanced manufacturing, [information] technology and trades.”
In addition to celebrating CTE month, four CTE teachers – covering the culinary, automotive, Adobe and business pathways – have been named Teacher of the Year for their school for the 2021-2022 school year: Noriko Burgess at Garinger High, Micheal Lopez at Independence High, Keith Hargrave at Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology and Elijah Watson at Ranson IB Middle.
Culinary sequences cover basic food safety and sanitation practices, as well as cold and hot food production, baking and pastry and service skills. Students have the chance to learn about nutritional needs, kitchen and meal management, food preparation and time and resource management.
"We want students to walk away with a management lens and executive-level chef skills,” said Gann-Carroll.
Burgess, the culinary teacher at Garinger, instills kindness and respect in her students. She always tries to keep a calm and caring demeanor toward others so that it transcends to her students.
“I remind them that the skills we work on must be practiced to allow us to get better and that practicing takes time to see the rewards,” said Burgess.
In the automotive pathway, students acquire the expertise required for automotive maintenance, servicing and basic testing of brakes, electrical systems, drivetrain, engine, HVAC and steering/suspension systems.
With the help of faculty, staff, fellow teachers, Professional Learning Community (PLC) groups and former teachers, automotive instructor Lopez was able to rebuild the automotive program at Independence. He also brought the program to meet national accreditation standards in three years.
“He’s really good at breaking it down and making kids interested,” Gann-Carroll said of Lopez. “They have more kids that want to be in the program than we have the space. Kids really enjoy it.”
A sequence of courses and the use of Adobe Creative Cloud software helps students develop skills in video and image manipulation, web development and visual communication. After completion, students earn certification in Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and Premier Pro.
Kesha Dawson, pathway lead, said Hargrave has been a phenomenal PLC lead for Adobe programs.
“He’s the first to volunteer for initiatives and projects to benefit students,” she said. “He attends [professional development] to learn more about his craft to elevate instruction for students, and he creates PD for other teachers so they can elevate their instruction to students.”
At the middle school level, CTE is more about exploration and discovery. Pathway development coordinators and career development coordinators also go into the schools and promote.
“In middle school, we build exploration and focus heavily on STEM,” said Gann-Carroll. “Kids don’t know what they don’t know, so we expose them to as many different STEM options. That way, they can go to high school with an idea of what they want to do.”
Watson, a business CTE teacher at Ranson IB Middle, said it was a dream of his to become a teacher. After his job at a local bank was outsourced and he planned to work on his nonprofit, he was asked to substitute at Ranson on a Monday. On Wednesday, a CTE job opened, he interviewed on Thursday and was hired on Friday.
Now he can watch his students achieve their dreams.
“I have the unique honor to give my students the tools they would need to succeed in life,” he said. “I can share with my students the lessons I learned throughout my life and how I overcame my mistakes. Specifically, as a teacher I can create a game plan for life and teach each student the steps to succeed in school and their future careers.
“Good teachers do all they can for their students so that students develop the intellect and passion to do whatever they want to do when they get older,” he added.
Original source can be found here.
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