The Career and Technical Education teachers and administration at Harry M. Arndt Middle School recently hosted The Chamber of Catawba County’s Leadership Catawba Cohort. The group of 36 toured Career and Technical Education’s new Paxton Patterson Labs and were able to see first hand how 7th and 8th graders are focusing on workforce connectivity in the classroom. Students are exposed to career pathways and able to immerse themselves into new experiences through hands-on and engaging activities that simulate applications seen in the real workforce. The student chosen activities are reinforced with essential skill building such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and adaptability.
The new labs were adopted this school year and have been very popular with students and adults, as well. We have hosted visitors from around North Carolina, as well as other states. The Director of Career & Technical Education, Dr. Jeff Isenhour, chose Paxton Patterson programs so students could have a diverse and large variety of choices in careers to explore and that align with high school career and technical education offerings.
Teachers, Kris Johnson and Chris Elmore, have been instrumental in redefining what career and technical education looks like in this middle school restructuring. They have been immersed in new comprehensive curriculum training, relocated classrooms, established new expectations for the new environments, and much more to make transitioning seamless for their students. In short, the teachers have had to reinvent themselves and their teaching styles to better serve their students and the needs of the workforce. They have successfully created highly engaged learning environments in which students definitely thrive and will notice benefits, both professionally and personally, as they move to life after middle school.
To learn more about Catawba County Schools Career & Technical Education programs, click here.
Every February, the CTE community celebrates CTE Month to raise awareness of the role that CTE has in readying learners for college and career success. CTE Month is also a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements of our local CTE partners.
