Another educational initiative that is gaining momentum both in the state of New Jersey as well as across the country is Career and Technical Education (CTE). In plain language, CTE is the practice of teaching specific career skills to students in middle school, high school, and post-secondary institutions. In New Jersey, the Office of Career Readiness is
responsible for the statewide implementation of secondary and post-secondary career and technical education (CTE) programs. This includes collaboration with the state workforce development system, institutions of higher education, business and industry and other state agencies to create rigorous programs of study aligned to workforce needs and career pathways. The department also aims through this program and others to
provide leadership to advance this movement and resulting performance-driven educational opportunities that promote equity and excellence for all students to become productive members in a global society. February in fact has been designated as Career and Technical Education month.
Career and Technical Education encompass sixteen clusters that apply to different high-demand careers. They include the following: Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Architecture & Construction, Arts, A/V Technology & Communications, Business Management & Administration, Education & Training, Finance, Government & Public Administration, Health Science, Hospitality & Tourism, Human Services, Information Technology, Law & Public Safety, Manufacturing, Marketing, Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM), and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics.
So what is the value for today’s youth?
A career and technology based education will help your child to be more than just an average student. CTE can give your child what’s needed to succeed for life: technical skills, academic skills and employability skills. In addition, career and technical education helps students see how what they’re learning applies to the needs of employers.
Regardless of whether students are headed for college or the workforce, this type of education will help them prepare for the future. In fact, college-bound students can get job experiences to help them define their career plans, identify an appropriate course of study and help pay for tuition. In reality, the benefits are many as students
will gain not only a solid foundation in academics, but also hands-on, technical experience and know-how
.
In Rockaway Borough, we are very aware of the potential benefits that students can gain through innovative and hands-on Career and Technological Education and the real life experience that can offer. To bring additional opportunities to our students, we have just gone into an agreement with Maplewoodshop to purchase licensing, equipment, lesson plans, relevant training, and support to implement a woodworking program for middle school students. Essentially, it is a "wood shop" on a cart. We hope to begin implementing the program later this spring with students from our MD class and then after review, integrate it as part of our specials rotation with targeted grades. We also believe we can use the materials to create after school or summer enrichment
programs.
