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Center for Technology Essex - ST Week 7.2

One of the most exciting times I have experienced with Nova’s eighth graders so far is the first wave of preparation for the students’ transition into high school. While our team’s core classes and unified arts courses are running on their same daily schedules, our team has made several arrangements in the past few weeks for EMS and Essex High School faculty and staff to present on what school life will be like for our students after middle school. About three weeks ago, EHS teachers and students involved in the media arts and music programs came to discuss the creative studies options the high school has to offer, and the music groups even performed a few songs as an added buy-in. Last week, students received their high school course recommendation and registration forms at an informational meeting held during Nova’s science classes. Today, the exploration of class/academic track options continued with a visit from a guidance coordinator working at the Center for Technology– Essex (CTE). Similar to most vocational/technical high schools in my hometown/county, the CTE offers numerous pre–professional programs that allow students to pursue career training while also earning their high school diploma. The CTE is also attached to Essex High School, making it easier for both schools to work with students who decide to complete single classes or full certificate programs.




Although most of Nova’s students seemed almost too apprehensive to ask many questions at today’s CTE presentation, I noticed how engaged a lot of my students seemed with the presentation. I remember from my own eighth grade high school preparation assemblies that our local voc./tech high school was not marketed well to my peers and me: the programs were intriguing, but the school seemed so different from what we were used to as students of traditional schooling. Two out of a near 300 students in my class wound up attending the local voc./tech school, and as far as I know, our high school’s course offerings and the technical programs did not overlap in any way. Looking back, I believe I made the right choice in continuing my education at the local public high school, but I can’t help but wonder if some of my former classmates feel like they missed a career opportunity based on the somewhat confusing explanation we received about the regional voc./tech. After the presentation today, I found myself wanting to further investigate the programs offered at CTE, and I hope that Nova’s students felt as well informed and interested as I did.

For students who are less interested in pursuing a college education, CTE made a wonderful introduction into the world of student–driven and flexible education available to all students even before undergraduate studies. With pre–service tracks for careers in the automotive, culinary, engineering, graphic design, health, natural sciences, and other fields; Essex students have countless opportunities to discover what kinds of career options interest them, and they can also use their interests to guide their pre–professional and traditional academic studies. As a future educator, I see several parallels between the CTE programs and middle school philosophy that I wish more secondary schools would embrace: flexible course tracks, pre–service programs, education fueled by a student’s interests and curiosity, integrated curriculums with real world applications… the list goes on. My only hope for Nova’s students is that they will not stray from considering CTE because it’s course structure is different from what they are used to. Of course, CTE will not be the high school for every student, but it is my goal to continue the conversation with Nova’s students in order to clear up any misconceptions about traditional versus technical high schools. In the future, I would like to explore the employment opportunities for educators in schools like CTE, and I plan to model my own lessons after related technical/vocational program options when appropriate, engaging students in real world application problems that also open doors up for career exploration. What a way to keep learning relevant to student realities!

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