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CTE CONNECTIONS CHRONICLE "WHERE EDUCATION MEETS INDUSTRY"

Dr. Whitney Oakley, Superintendent

April 2023 • VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 8

THE CTE "WHY?"

Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares all students for high-skill, high-wage, or in-demand careers. The experience begins with career inspiration in Pre-K, awareness in elementary school, exploration in middle school, and preparation in high school. CTE equips students for post-secondary education and immediate employment opportunities to compete worldwide successfully.

• FEATURED ARTICLES •

Rosemary Ruan

Rosemary Ruan from Northwest Guilford High School Wins third place in the first-ever America’s Next Great Intern Contest. Ruan competed against 15 other students nationwide for the top honor. The sophomore at Northwest Guilford High School was one of 16 national finalists selected to showcase top-tier communication skills essential in an internship. Nearly 200 students competed in the contest, and 6,500 people from around the country voted on the 16 national finalists. National winners were announced in April.

  • First place: Bezawit Abate from Potomac Senior High School in Dumfries, Virginia
  • Second place: Lucy Hansen from Boone High School in Boone, Iowa

The submission period for the America’s Next Great Intern contest ran throughout February 2023, which is National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. All middle school, high school and post-secondary CTE students were eligible. The instructions were drawn from Rubin’s Emerge curriculum, a broad library of online exercises for employability skills like email/phone etiquette, job interview prep, LinkedIn communication and more. Rubin provides Emerge to CTE programs nationwide. A panel of judges (Rubin team members, industry professionals and staff from the Association for Career and Technical Education) assessed the students across five areas.

  1. Greeting: Video recording of the student engaging in a professional handshake
  2. Phone Skills: Video recording of the student leaving a mock voicemail and answering the phone at a place of business
  3. Team Communication: Email in which the student updates a teacher or employer on the status of classwork or a project at an internship/job
  4. Resiliency & Determination: Written example of a time in which the student demonstrated resiliency in the face of a challenge on a class/club project, volunteer opportunity or internship task
  5. Research & Critical Thinking: Questions the student prepares to better explore a company where the student would like to intern

Rubin, the leader in online curriculum for employability and workplace readiness skills, hosted the competition. Rubin is the leader in online instruction for employability and work readiness skills. The company, based in Virginia Beach, Virginia, provides Emerge, a digital curriculum that teaches effective writing and speaking skills, to thousands of students in middle school, high school and higher education. Rubin also has a soft-skill notification tool for email writing called Propel. Founded in 2017 by Danny Rubin, a former CBS television news reporter and consultant to NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rubin teaches students nationwide critical lessons for email/phone etiquette, networking, team communication, leadership communication and more. Demand for intern and job applicants with “soft skills” is a top priority across all industry sectors. According to a 2022 survey of employers by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 76% of respondents want to hire young people who can work on a team, 73% want employees with strong written communication skills and 58% seek new hires who can speak well.

“Employers often lament that students don’t possess the ‘soft skills’ necessary to engage in an office setting or on the job site,” says Danny Rubin, founder of Rubin. “We hope the contest shows that, yes, there are motivated young people coast to coast who will add value to any business or organization.” Rubin's motto: “Write well, open doors!” For more information, please contact Danny Rubin at danny@rubineducation.com.

The North Carolina CTE Foundation is honored to sponsor the John Kirkman Honorary CTE Scholarship. Mr. Kirkman served North Carolina Career & Technical Education for over thirty years. Throughout his tenure in CTE, Mr. Kirkman served as a middle school and high school Agriculture teacher, CTE Director for Lee County Schools, CTE Regional Coordinator and Interim State CTE Director. His dedication and love for CTE led to many contributions that have positively impacted thousands of students, teachers, and administrators across the state.

The North Carolina CTE Foundation is honored to sponsor the LeeAnn Tuttle-Thomas Memorial CTE Scholarship. LeeAnn Tuttle-Thomas served as a business education teacher, Curriculum and Instructional Management Coordinator and Career and Technical Education Director during her tenure with the Davidson County School System. While serving as the NCACTEA president, LeeAnn mentored and led the Career and Technical Education Administrators in North Carolina. Her commitment to education and her passion for students was evident in everything she did.

These scholarship opportunities are for high school seniors only. All student nominees are stellar young people with bright futures.

For the John Kirkman Honorary CTE Scholarship, Guilford County Schools (GCS) had 11 student nominations, seven of which were district finalists. For 2022-2023, Guilford County Schools-Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department, selected Joshua Hughes, a senior from Ben L. Smith High School, to represent GCS CTE at the regional level. Joshua is a CTE completer in the STEM and Manufacturing career pathways. As a Junior Marshal, Joshua is involved in many extracurricular activities (such as, but not limited to: Varsity Cross Country, Varsity Basketball, National Honors Society, International Club, Mr. Senior, etc.). He plans to attend a four-year college or university and major in Business Finance. Joshua attributes his CTE experience in providing opportunities to enhance his problem-solving skills, develop diversified processes of thinking, and creatively construct solutions to real-world problems. Although, Joshua did not make it passed the regional round, we are very proud of all his accomplishments and wish him well with his pathway of choice towards postsecondary endeavors.

Joshua Hughes

For the LeeAnn Tuttle-Thomas Memorial CTE Scholarship, Guilford County Schools (GCS) had 13 student nominations, seven of which were district finalists. For 2022-2023, Guilford County Schools-Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department, selected Sarah Hyatt, a senior from Southwest Guilford High School, to represent GCS CTE at the regional level. Sarah took several CTE courses with a focus in Information Technology. Sarah earned the highest credential distinction, platinum level, on the ACT WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate. She is the President of the Environmental Club and participates in numerous extracurricular activities. Proud of her South Asian descent, Sarah believes in quality education and desires to inspire others, and to positively influence the essence of humanity. Sarah plans to attend a four-year college or university and pursue a career in cybersecurity engineering. She enjoys learning how things work, finding resolutions to problems, and discovering new things all of which are emphasized in CTE classrooms. Sarah did not advance beyond the regional round; however, we are very proud of her of all her accomplishments and wish her well with her pathway of choice towards postsecondary endeavors.

Sarah Hyatt

Academy at Smith students are on the move and making a difference

The scholar ambassadors of The Academy at Smith's National Technical Honor Society (NTHS), under the leadership of CTE Career and College Manager-Dr. Aretha Garr, have been on the move this school year. The Academy’s NTHS chapter has over sixty members and was recognized by the organization’s national office for being one of the few chapters allowing first-year scholars to be members. In esteemed demonstration of the seven realms of NTHS which are Skill, Honesty, Service, Responsibility, Scholarship, Citizenship, and Leadership, these NTHS scholars participated in various events.

Gateway City Chick-Fil-A partnered with Dr. Garr and invited all sixty scholar ambassadors to participate in the Chick-Fil-A Leader Academy. This leader academy further enhanced the actualization of the seven NTHS realms in participants' lives. Over the past school years, these scholars donated 348 books to the scholars at Sedgefield Elementary School; provided nearly $500 worth of items to the Ronald McDonald House Family Room at the Women’s and Children’s Center at Moses Cone Memorial Hospital; and presented Chick-Fil-A gift cards to the men and women transporting The Academy at Smith scholars to and from school each day. All of these NTHS service-learning experiences helped these scholars to develop an authentic sense of citizenship and responsibility. Moreover, Dr. Garr has brought meaningful partnerships, mentorships, and job shadowing opportunities to the students of The Academy at Smith. Some of these courageous partnerships include Dr. Nixon of the Fred Wilson School of Pharmacy at High Point University; CVS Workforce Initiative; Dr. Leigh Fritz, Assistant Director of Pharmacy at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist; and Guilford County Public Health. The ultimate goal is to prepare our graduates to seek various pathways, including employment, enrichment, entrepreneurship and enlistment.

• EDUCATION & BUSINESS & INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT•

Jackson middle school students going to nationals!!!

Jackson Middle School students did an amazing job this year at the Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) Competition held at the Koury Convention Center. Jackson Middle School's TSA team, under the leadership of CTE teacher-Dr. Thomasina Hayes, represented Guilford County Schools well and brought home 16 trophies. TSA exposes our students to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) exploratory activities while also building their curiosity towards educational and career pathways in the field. These competitions provide an opportunity for students to take their learning beyond the classroom to further develop lifelong leadership, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills. Jackson Middle School's TSA members will compete at this year's TSA Nationals during June 26 through July 2nd in Louisville, Kentucky. This is Jackson Middle School's TSA team's second year in a row to earn the opportunity to compete nationally.

Jackson Middle School

Northwest guilford High School Future Business Leaders of AmericA (FBLA)

Ali Cicek
Avyukth Bhattu, Shashwat Prabhakar, Harsh Surti

This Spring, students from Northwest Guilford High School (NWHS) attended the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Competition at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, NC. Out of the seven NWHS students who attended, two came in the top 10 in their event; Ali Cicek for Job Interview and Ashley Wan for Business Communications. Harsh Surti, Shashwat Prabhakar, and Avyukth Bhattu came in 2nd place for Banking and Finance and are heading to Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia at the end of June.

southwest guilford high school Health occupations students of america(HOSA)

Southwest Guilford High School (SWHS) HOSA Chapter at this year's State Leadership Conference

Health Occupations Students of America is a global Career and Technical Student Organization whose mission is to promote career opportunities in the health industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people. HOSA is a viable solution to the health industry shortage and helps to prepare the future generation of health care professionals. Last month, HOSA students utilized their health science education knowledge and skills to compete in the state competition held in Greensboro, NC.

We would like to recognize the following SWHS students for their successful competitive events in NC HOSA:

  • Ishwa Dave, Hope Choi, and Amy Cho - First Place, Community Awareness on Mental Health
  • Christelle Aguilar and Charisse Calwitan - First Place, Health Career Display
  • Ryan Kim - First Place, Health Career Photography
  • Rayna Dave - First Place, Math for Health Careers - Middle School Division
  • Virginia Kitley, Siya Patel, Angela Cao, and Prachi Patel - Top 10 Finalists on Community Awareness on Diabetes
  • Katelyn Vo, Hilda Assadian, Saron Kibrom, Sriya Karki, and Angelo Yu - Top Finalists on Mental Health Promotion

go, connect, & grow

Dudley High School CTE students visit North Carolina A&T State University.

Mid-semester, Dudley High School's Child Development class, led by CTE teacher and department chair-Mrs. Cicily Springs, explored North Carolina A&T State University's Family and Consumer Science (FCS) School. During this experiential learning event, students visited the Child Development Lab where they took a tour of the daycare facility and spoke with Dr. Burwell, Director of the Child Development Lab, and Dr. McMillian, Chair of the Family and Consumer Science School. On their visit, students engaged with FCS program professors and coordinators: Dr. Tahergorabi, professor of Food Nutritional Sciences; Dr. Williams-Wheeler, Coordinator of CDFS Program; and Dr. Jaiswal, Assistant Professor of Fashion Merchandising and Design. This postsecondary education experience allowed Dudley students to learn about the different pathways of Family and Consumer Sciences. They also learned about the many careers that they can explore through an aligned undergraduate and advanced degree program after high school graduation.

students paying it forward

Dudley High School students visit Swann Middle School.

Mrs. Cicily Springs, Dudley High School's CTE Department Chair; Frank McNeil, Dudley's Career and College Manager; and Chris Snead, Special Populations Coordinator at Dudley, led a group of thirteen Dudley High School students to speak to eighth-grade students at Swann Middle School about transitioning to high school and the different career pathways available in high school. Dudley students shared their unique experiences as high schoolers, inclusive of the academic coursework, work-based learning opportunities, and extracurricular activities such as Career and Technical Student Organizations and more. This vertical alignment peer-to-peer conversation, contributed to the awareness and exposure of the higher secondary and postsecondary options. Through a question-and-answer session, eighth graders gain better insight to be prepared for their next journey in school and were more encouraged to embrace their journey, taking full advantage of the diversified opportunities that await them. Dudley students were able to demonstrate durable skills (i.e., communication, collaboration, problem-solving, etc.), also known as soft skills, in the facilitation of this transitional presentation. These student leaders helped to inspire the next generation of high school students.

design thinking at work

CTE Exploring Technology teacher, Ms. Dorothy Staton engaged her students at Northeast Middle School in a design thinking project. Middle schoolers used the Engineering Design Process to construct a unique world-themed lesson. Students used every day household items (paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls, construction paper, yarn, glue, etc.) to assemble binoculars, rockets and speakers. This assignment gave students the opportunity to understand the Engineering Design Process, use their knowledge and apply it to their project. Students were encouraged to think outside the box to heighten creativity. Students appreciated their final projects and enjoyed comparing and contrasting design features observed between projects within class. This activity prepares students to work in WhiteBox Learning, a completely web-delivered, standards-based STEM learning system for Engineering, Science, and Technology Education classrooms, grades 6-12. Using WhiteBox Learning, students are able to create, analyze, and simulate their designs, from a web browser, and compete with other students throughout their class and school district. These CTE learning experiences provide exploration for students to discover interests and natural aptitudes that may lead to a career aspiration.

CTE Learning After hours

Last month, Dudley High School hosted a CTE Learning Hub event led by Mrs. Tiffany Rouse of Dudley's School Counseling department, Frank McNeil-CTE Career and College Manager, and Chris Snead CTE Special Populations Coordinator. This event featured the Career Pathways available at Dudley High School. The presenters for the different Pathways were Dudley's CTE teachers and Student Services staff: Joyce Washington (CTE Marketing and Business), April Carter (CTE Computer Science), Richard Monroe (CTE Engineering), Kelly Younts (CTE Nursing), Mary Kopacki (CTE Health Sciences), Kenneth Burkley (CTE Automotive), Frank McNeil (Summer Job Opportunities), and Shonda Foster (Social and Emotional Learning). UNC-Greensboro and the State Employees Credit Union were also present. Students had the opportunity to visit the different pathways, engaging in content-specific activities, to learn about pathway choices towards secondary courses and work-based learning, and postsecondary education and employment options. This learning hub experience was a complete success and encouraged our students to be active advocates for their own learning.

take me to the ball game!

Click HERE to view WFMY News 2's spotlight of Northern High School's Sports Marketing Program featuring its first-ever NESPY's Awards.

Sport & Event Marketing Career Pathway Course Sequence

A labor of love

Students at Southern Guilford High School (SGHS) in the CTE Agricultural (AG) Education Department witnessed new life! In one week, all three does (female goats) gave birth! Luckily, these birthing miracles occurred in the morning, so students had an incredible first-time authentic learning experience. CTE provides hands-on, real-world engagement that generates excitement, spreading from student to student.

Animal Science Career Pathway Course Sequence

Click HERE to learn more about the SGHS AG program and see the newest members of the SGHS CTE family.

GET INTO INDUSTRY TOUR (GIIT) AT ATRIUM HEALTH WAKE FOREST BAPTIST HIGH POINT MEDICAL CENTER

Last month, GCS-CTE Get Into Industry Tours (GIIT) visited Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist. Seventeen community, business, and education leaders engaged in discussion about workplace demands, innovative facilities and processes, how to best engage students and attract the right candidates. CTE's emerging partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist secures relevant school-to-work placements. GCS is committed to fostering sustained connections with all stakeholders to shape a mutual partnership wherein investments in our young people offer an impactful return for our community, at large.

A LOOK AHEAD....May 2023

HAVE YOU APPLIED?

FAME application window closes June 1, 2023.

The new, first of its kind in North Carolina and created by Toyota, Federation Advanced Manufacturing Education (F.A.M.E.) program is purposed for newly high school graduates. In 2019, FAME moved to the Manufacturing Institute for national scaling. In January 2023, it was formally announced that FAME is coming to North Carolina, Triad-area, with its first cohort starting Summer 2023. FAME is a two-year workforce development program designed for those interested in pursuing a career in STEM-related fields in manufacturing. It provides a debt-free associate degree with the goal of equipping newly graduated high school students, and others, with the skills required in the modern, dynamic field of manufacturing. NC FAME will be a five-day program with three, paid days of on-the-job training at one of the current manufacturing sponsor companies and two, paid days of course work through partnership with GTCC; hourly wage while in program is $16-$17. The starting average salary at program completion is $60K, and within five years average salary grows to $100K+. The initial four sponsor companies are Jowat Adhesives in Archdale, NC; MasterBrand Cabinets in Lexington, NC; Toyota Battery in Liberty, NC; and, ZIEHL-ABEGG in Greensboro, NC. More companies are joining FAME! Additional companies include General Dynamics in Greensboro, NC; ABCO Automation in Brown Summit, NC; Westrock in Greensboro, NC; and Procter & Gamble in Greensboro & Brown Summit, NC. FAME participants will be provided global work experience through technical training, integration of manufacturing core competencies, intensive professional practices, and intentional hands-on experience to build the future of the rapidly evolving manufacturing industry. The goal of FAME is to develop global best technical talent. This year’s graduating high school seniors will have an opportunity to apply for this program with its first cohort starting Summer 2023. Applicants need to be college ready (minimum of a 2.8 unweighted G.P.A., earning high school credits aligned with college entrance requirements) and a high math aptitude. Interested students can submit an application at gtcc.edu/gtccfame/. The application closes June 1, 2023.

DR. HOLLY PORE • CTE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS

GCS Teachers/Students/Staff: Click HERE to submit an article

Business/Community Partners: Click HERE to submit an article

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