Career & Technology … Preparing for the Future by Sally Andrews Director of Community Relations Vidor ISD
Students in welding created these planters and them for a local nursing
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tep into the Career and Technology Education building … or any building at Vidor High School where CTE courses are held … and you will see something that is definitely not your traditional classroom setting. Students may be measuring blood pressures or learning to listen for pulses in nursing class; absorbing skills on how to make an arrest, handcuff a perpetrator or make a traffic stop; or they may be testing chemicals in a pharmacy tech class. Construction Trades students may be building fire boards for homecoming, creating a table or a clock case or crafting a hope chest for display in a SkillsUSA competition. Future Farmers of America youth might be working with animals or learning to judge dairy or livestock. Cosmetology students may be cutting or coloring hair or giving a manicure, and business courses are sure to be learning a variety of computer applications. Why? To prepare students for the future, including the workplace. CTE Director Penny Singleton says, “Probably at least 40 percent of the students in CTE courses go straight into the workforce. Some have tested to be food handlers, while others have passed an auto repair test or earned their Certified Nurse’s Aide designation. We have had students get a Cosmetology license then work doing hair while getting a college degree in something totally different. We send kids out of here with skills that can last a lifetime.” Singleton, who was recently named Career and Technology Education Director of the Year for the State of Texas, has been doing this for a long time … almost 20 years now. “I love what I do
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and I love watching the students move into careers because of what they learned here.” Students may learn animation or child development, interior design or culinary arts. They can take a medical terminology course or horticulture. There is a wide array of business courses offered. Veterinary Medicine Applications and Animal Sciences are popular choices for those going into such fields. Teacher Tiffany Sanchez says, “I believe that not all students are college-ready by the time they leave high school. It is not the fault of the students, nor the teachers; they are just not able to make it in college. The CTE program allows students to incorporate hands-on training to prepare for life after high school. Many students graduate from high school certified in a trade that will allow them to go straight into the industry. I teach four different courses: Principles of Law, Law Enforcement 1, Law Enforcement 2 and Correctional Services. By the time my students graduate, they should have received five different FEMA certifications and be CPR trained. They should also understand how the court systems are run, basic law enforcement techniques such as handcuffing, arresting, traffic stops and basic jailer (corrections) techniques like fingerprinting, booking in an inmate and cell searching. By learning these techniques, my students should have an easier transition into the law, public safety, corrections and security career pathways. I believe the Director of CTE, Penny Singleton, has great knowledge of the needs of our students and their futures. She is always encouraging our department to expand and enhance opportunities for our students by reaching out to professionals in the
