Career-technical education (CTE) gives students the opportunity to begin job-specific training while still in high school. In the state of Ohio, it is an option for all students.
CTE can be for anyone, added Edward Ewers, the superintendent of Penta Career Center.
“There’s not a particular characteristic that parents can look for,” he said. “They’re looking for a way to help their student be successful.”
If you want to learn how to engage and support your child in CTE, this guide is your answer.
How do I enroll my child in CTE?
The first step to enrolling your child in CTE is finding out what delivery model your child’s school district offers.
The state of Ohio has three approaches to CTE delivery:
- Compact Partner Districts: Districts collaborate to offer programming to all students.
- Comprehensive Schools: CTE classes are integrated into course offerings.
- Joint Vocational School Districts: Students attend full days (or partial) days dedicated to career education.
Toledo Public Schools (TPS) is a Comprehensive School — meaning a high school location within the district offers a specific program. Regardless of which school the student attends, they have the option to join any Career Technology path they want.
“If a student is at Bowser High School, and they want to take auto collision, all they would need to do is talk with their counselor and they would sign them up on the schedule to take auto collision,” said Cassandra Seimet, a career technology director for TPS.
At TPS, juniors are responsible for getting to their CTE location in the morning and are transported back to their usual school midday. Seniors are the opposite. They are taken from their usual high school to their CTE location and are responsible for getting home at the end of the day.
On the other hand, Penta Career Center is formed from a Joint Vocational School district, meaning if a student attends one of its 16 member schools, they qualify for Penta.
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“Our students graduate from their member school, but while they’re here with us, they earn industry recognized credentials,” said Ewers. “We’ve also created options for kids outside of the regular school day through our regional programs and our satellite programs.”
While CTE programs are typically designed for juniors and seniors. This is not always the case. Penta Career Center has a sophomore exploratory program, and some TPS programs can span up to four years.
Contact your child’s high school to figure out what CTE options they offer.
Which CTE program is right for my child?
CTE programs fall into one of 16 career clusters defined by the United States Department of Labor. These clusters group career pathways that require similar skills. For example, the occupations of software developer, computer support specialist and database administrator all fall within the information technology career cluster.
To explore which career clusters appeal to them, children can take a skills and interest assessment. TPS administers these surveys to seventh and eighth graders in preparation for high school.
“Parents look at those assessments when they come home to really help guide those students,” Seimet said.
Penta Career Center offers career assessment services through its member schools. Plus, other surveys can be found online through OhioMeansJobs and the Occupational Information Network.
While career assessments are not required for CTE enrollment, they can help students choose a program. Once a child’s skills and interests are identified, the associated career clusters and CTE programs can be explored, Seimet said.
“If I look at Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and I look under animal science, it’ll talk about the skills, ability, personality, tools and technology, and education that are associated with that field,” she said about TPS’s own Career Technology webpage. “So, a kid in animal science might need critical thinking, oral comprehension, active listening, oral expression and service-oriented skills.”
TPS offers more than 30 programs throughout its district. A list of programs and locations can be found on the Career Technology webpage. Penta Career Center has about 30 programs as well, in addition to its Sophomore Exploratory program.
How do I support my child pursing CTE?
Ewers said it is important for parents to realize today’s students are thinking about education in a new way. Encouraging your child’s decision to pursue CTE is the first step to supporting your child.
“Recognizing that students are looking for something a little bit different, they’re looking for different individual opportunities, flexibility, entrepreneurship,” Ewers said. “Those are all things we hear from our students.”
Additionally, parents should realize the future options presented by CTE are endless.
“This is not an ‘either/or’ kind of proposition. This is an ‘all of the above’ proposition,” he added.
Students enrolled in CTE can gain work experience, industry credentials and college credit.
“These are things that regardless of what option, regardless of what pathway, regardless of how students see themselves being successful in their future career,” Ewers said, “tech education can help lead them there.”
