Career Technical Education (CTE) Programs

Career Technical Education (CTE) programs are a hot topic of discussion in education circles not only in Iowa but across the nation. There are many valid reasons why this is the case.  Some in business and industry consider it something that has been given little attention, and it is time to produce graduates who have the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the needs of the workforce.  Another compelling reason to strengthen CTE programs in schools is the positive impact on high school graduation rates, higher college enrollment rates, and higher wages for those students who participate in CTE Courses (Dougherty, 2016).

CTE programs are perceived by some to be an alternate path through high school that results in limited opportunities for students to attend college.  However, high-quality CTE programs are rigorous as the high school courses are often aligned with requirements for students to earn associate degrees and at times allow students to receive college credit while attending high school.

The Board established the expansion of CTE learning opportunities as a priority several months ago when goals were adopted. Currently, classes are available in fields related to agriculture, automotive technology, business, construction, health occupations, and human services.  The District is committed to strengthening the CTE curriculum, adding additional classes, and providing professional development for our staff to support this goal. Recently, Sarah F. Martin and Jay Sweet submitted a proposal for grant funding to the Regional Planning Partnership for CTE and were awarded over $11,000 to purchase new equipment.

Additionally, we are looking to develop extending learning opportunities so students can participate in more career technical classes during the summer months.  Providing summer instruction will allow students to have more flexibility with their schedules during the school year and maximize their opportunity to earn credit in more areas.

We have some limitations in our ability to include additional programming due to space limitations at the high school. We have broken some of the space barriers by working with community partners to arrange work-based learning opportunities and internships in different areas. We have also collaborated with the City of Shenandoah to use the Bricker Botanical Center downtown.  Some courses are taught at the Iowa Western Community College campus in Shenandoah. These are good examples of using existing resources, but there is more work to do and space is needed to develop stronger programs to support coding, engineering, robotics, and other related fields. These are some of the reasons why it is necessary to remodel at the High School and add an addition to the building.

This type of instruction is essential as it makes school more relevant to the learning needs of our students and keeps them engaged.  When students find purpose in their learning and make the connections to the real world they are more motivated, productive and achieve at higher levels. Continuing to provide and expand high-quality career technical education programs contributes to making Shenandoah CSD a great place to be for our students to receive their education.