newsletter

1st article

Mesa, AZ(May 8 2019)- With the the 2018/2019 school year coming to a close, many seniors such as Samantha Chow are busily preparing for graduation. One item on her checklist is to attend the Mesa Public Schools Concentrator Banquet. A high school student becomes a concentrator when they take two years of Career and Technical Education programs in high school. Concentrators are honored for their commitment to prepare themselves for either a post-secondary education or a career directly out of high school. The banquet highlights all CTE programs before the reception starts. Culinary students can be seen passing out gourmet treats for parents to enjoy, which of course they crafted themselves. Engineering students have their robots moving in-between the crowd to show off their knowledge. Every program is represented, as well as video, where Samantha was honored as her 3rd place in AZCTE’s PSA Competition. Her video was played for all the parents and students to see as the banquet started. The video not only gave Samantha and other students a chance to practice their video production skills, but the video used to help inform and educated parents of the benefits of CTE education. Mr. Jeff Hall, Samantha’s video production teacher at Mountain View High School, created the assignment for Samantha’s class to each produce a PSA video. He said, “Its a great competition, students receive hands-on experience working with a client creating a video they requested. They also get to use their video production skills to show off CTE education and get parents and the community inside the highly technical classes.” AZCTE offers over $900 for high school students in their yearly video PSA competition. Samantha and her partner Ben walked away with $150 in cash. After the video was played, students were able to be recognized individually on stage for their achievement in becoming a concentrator. Samantha’s video can be seen here on AZCTE’s youtube page https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=DXPnYQu7UjI and you can check out more about Mesa Public schools CTE program at http://www.mpsaz.org/cte

2nd article

Northeastern Arizona and Beyond (June 4, 2019)--- Northland Pioneer College (NPC) of Arizona’s business program students bring a new heart to the mountain.

“We know that many at our college are unable to leave campus to eat for many reasons. The students have to travel long distances to get to campus and/or many of our centers or campuses don’t have restaurants nearby,” stated Rebecca Hunt, program implementer and faculty. Many of NPC’s students are low-income and/or first generation. “Some of these students can barely find a way to cover the costs of books and other fees, let alone lunches.”

Northland Pioneer College serves students in Navajo and Apache counties, two of the poorest counties in the nation. It is spread out over nine campuses and centers, covering a region roughly the size of West Virginia. “This is why the business program came up with the plan to serve food to students on campus,” Hunt continues. While partnering with the Hospitality Program as well as Culinary Arts, the Business Program created NPC Eats, which serves students three meals a day at a discounted price, and is located on campus.

“NPC Eats will also be open to the public,” Hunt emphasized. “It gives students the opportunity to eat something better and less expensive than fast food, as well as the convenience of having it nearby.” Local patrons also come eat what the students are serving, and so far reviews have been good. “We love that we are providing a service, while also teaching the students real skills that they will use in the workforce.

For more information about NPC Eats or the Business Program at Northland Pioneer College, email Rebecca Hunt at [email protected] or call at (928) 536-6271.

3rd article

Press release

Flagstaff, AZ – with the summer fast approaching, the students of the early childhood education

program are preparing to take a trip to both Finland and Sweden to study the educational systems that

have made the world sit up and take notice.

Twenty students will take advantage of Northern Arizona’s study abroad program to spend a total of ten

days exploring the wonders of Tampere and Helsinki in Finland and Stockholm in Sweden. The group will

visit three different schools in Tampere over the course of three days. This will allow the students to also

do some sightseeing to take in the Finnish culture. The students will take a Tampere Commuter Train

from Tampere to Helsinki where over the course of the next few days the students will visit school

centers and outdoor playgrounds. Time will be made to see Museums and do some Sightseeing. The

group will then take a dinner cruise to Stockholm to visit Stockholm University and a couple of

Stockholm schools. The group will have the chance to visit local historical sites as well.

This is a chance for some lucky and hardworking individuals to experience two wonderful countries and

learn about one of the top rated educational systems in the world. Many individuals never have the

opportunity to do something like this. This experience is one that will likely shape their views and stay in

their memories for a lifetime. The early childhood development education program is proud to partner

with the study abroad program to offer this life enriching opportunity to its students. For information on

the early childhood education program, contact Gerald Thomas @ [email protected]. Financial

aid may be available.

4th article

Mesa, Az – Students in the Marketing Education Program at Mountain View High School are preparing for two very important events happening on our campus. The first event is their annual Market Day. This annual event will take place over 2 days on August 10th and 11th.  At Market Day, customers will be able to shop at 25 different stores from our students in our Marketing Program. These 25 stores will feature various artisans who have created very unique items to other traditional items such as jewelry and bath bombs! This is such a wonderful opportunity for our Mountain View marketing students to showcase their business skills and also show us their creative side! As you enter our student quad starting on August 10th, you will notice that it will be transformed into a sea a various tables and booths that will showcase all of our future business men and women.

Ms. Marisol Aragon, The Professional Sales and Marketing Teacher and DECA Advisor promotes the event by saying “Come join us as our marketing students practice their customer service skills and learn the pros and cons of business ownership!”

The second event our marketing students will be hosting is our spirit links fundraiser. To celebrate our homecoming football game on August 30th, the DECA chapter will be selling spirit links. Sprit links are paper strips on our school colors of red and blue and will be attached into “links” and decorated around the stadium at homecoming. Spirit links will be sold in spirit link “packets” which will be $1.00 for each packet. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds will benefit the Phoenix Children’s hospital while the rest of the proceeds will create college scholarships and professional development opportunities for marketing students and Mountain View high school. The first, second, and third place classrooms who sell the most spirit links will receive free Dutch Brothers or In N out Burger lunch. (Teacher’s choice) The spirit link sales will begin on Monday, August 19th.

These two events are a wonderful way to come and support Marketing Education Program at Mountain View high school.

For more information regarding our DECA and marketing program please contact Ms. Marisol Aragon at [email protected] or call at (480) 968-8937.

5th article

CTE696

Press release

Dale Wiggins

RHS Automotive program goes full throttle with new partner, Western North Carolina Auto

Dealers Association.

The automotive program at Robbinsville High School just pulled away from the competition.

Mr. Richard Wiggins the automotive instructor at Robbinsville High School has just landed a

great partnership with the WNC auto dealers association. Partnering with the auto dealers

association opens many doors to career connections that Robbinsville High School has worked

diligently for the past two years to achieve.

The automotive program at RHS is pleased that this partnership will allow students to have

internship opportunities with the premier employers in the western North Carolina region. Many

of these internships will be paid positions either with weekly pay or in the form of scholarships.

The dealer’s association has struggled for the past decade to deepen the talent pool for future

hires, and now that goal has become a reality through the hard work of Mr. Wiggins and his

automotive club in conjunction with the WNC Auto Dealers Association. The grassroots

operation included presentations to the auto dealers association, Graham County Board of

Education, and individual meetings with dealership owners. The presentations were given by

Mr. Wiggins, and the RHS Auto club president, Cameron Willis.

Students, Mr. Wiggins, and the auto dealer association will be presenting this program at the

RHS event center July 24 th , 2019 at 6:00p.m. for all interested students and parents.

6th

Press Release by: Marcus Metcalf

Many students are gearing up for the new school year by heading out to shop for pencils, paper,

notebooks etc. Some, like those enrolled in the MUHSD Construction Trades classes, are off

to find suitable work boots and rugged clothing. These students are eagerly preparing to get to

the business of Building! The new Career and Technical Education program is beginning a

second successful year and would like to invite the public to an open house for the community

Friday August 30th at 5:00 p.m.

Construction Trades is a three year program in which students are able to earn Industry

certification through the nationally recognized NCCER curriculum. This hands on course takes

students with very little knowledge of the trades and develops them into apprenticeship level

carpenters. The course covers basics in roofing, drywall, AC electrical, plumbing, and

surveying. Students will also be able to take part in internships with local contractors while they

earn both high school and college credit. Construction Trades students will graduate high

school with a diploma in one hand and multiple industry certificates in the other prepared to be

independent self sufficient adults.

The Construction Trades students were hard at work the first year as they started with a

warehouse full of tools and equipment on pallets and eventually set up and organized the shop

into what it is today. They even fit in time to go through OSHA-10 level safety training and

complete their NCCER Core Curriculum Certificates. hey will be showcasing their newly

organized shop and year one picnic table and tool shed projects (also for sale). Community

members will also be treated to hot dogs and refreshments and personal tours with devoted

Construction Trades students! So come out and take part in this exciting new development in

the community that will provide many opportunities for future generations in our area.

8th articles

Kirk Gebeike

Mohave Valley, AZ - June, 6th, 2019 -Students at the River Valley High School fire science program learn practical skills that can lead to a career in the fire service. River Valley High School is providing interested students with a comprehensive class to learn about firefighting careers. The fire science program is a two-year Career and Technical Education (CTE) program where students are exposed to the variety of career choices in the fire service. The first year of the program allows the students to learn common terminology, roles, and career options. These options can be everything from a firefighter on an engine, to a HAZMAT specialist, EMT, radio technician, or a fire dispatcher.

Students that continue with the program for a second year not only earn their science credit for graduation but also gain certifications that can help them gain employment directly after graduation. One of the certifications is the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) certification as a wildland firefighter. In a partnership with the National Park Service, students learn the basics of wildland firefighting and if successful are gaining a wildland firefighter certification that they can use to apply for summer firefighting jobs.

McKenna Smith, a recent graduate of the River Valley HS fire science program was just hired as a seasonal firefighter for the 2019 fire season on a 5 person wildland fire engine in Southern California. She will be a first-year firefighter responsible for protecting homes and resources from wildland fire. This position will allow her to earn more than $20,000 for the fire season and start a rewarding career in the fire service. This option of going directly from high school to employment is one example of the success of the Career and Technical Education programs at River Valley High School. If you have any further questions on how you can support these programs or if your child is interested in this program please contact the River Valley High School at (928) 768-2300.

9th article

Charles Renning

Phoenix- Think of your first job. Odds are it was in fast food, retail, customer service or something similar. A lot has changed over the years, but teenagers’ first jobs haven’t. A startup technology company, working with a local high school are trying to change that.

Phoenix technology company Gigapult and students in Metro Tech High School’s I.T. Department are working together to modernize entry-level work to give students a leg up in the work-world and connect businesses with the talent they need.

“Work experience built in high school has an impact throughout one's life,” said John Bevel, co-founder and CEO of Gigapult. “Working with high school students allowed Gigapult insight into how Generation Z views technology and work.”

According to Bevel, Gigapult is trying to redefine first jobs. They want to allow high school students to use their platform to test and build the skills they need, while organizations cultivate their future talent pool. They are using the gig economy concept to help student catapult their first jobs into careers.

Over the last two years, Gigapult along with about 25 juniors and seniors at Metro Tech High School have met once a month to work together to plan, build, test and promote the new platform.

While Bevel worked with co-founders J. Michael Edwards-Toepel and Brittney Rislund to create the site and cultivate relationships between business, the students gave feedback on usability and tested “gigs”, while earning money in the process.

“It’s been great for my students to work with and see the process that a start-up company goes through,” said Chad Renning, software development teacher at Metro Tech. “ The extra money earned for the students was just another bonus.”

The relationship started in the fall of 2017 when Gigapult was just a concept and now the two continue to work together on a functional beta program that has been through two iterations of work for the students and a variety of companies.

Students in the software development, computer maintenance and networking classes at Metro Tech are getting real-world experiences doing tasks that range from technology specific to basic corporate writing. The students are getting to apply the skills they are learning in high school directly to a paying-job and also building their resume for future work.

Gigapult will continue working with Metro Tech in the 2019-2020 school year, but is also working to get other schools around the state involved.

“Through Gigapult's work with Metro Tech we were able to learn what sort of gig work high school students could do and wanted to do,” Bevel said. “Gigapult was also able to continue working with students even after they started at university demonstrating how work can be the 'glue' between high school and university.”