2020-2021 Career and Technical Education Highlights

West Central’s career and technical education (CTE) programs and enrollments are growing. There are 353 CTE course enrollments for the 2020-2021 school year, as a part of the Indian Trails Career Cooperative.

West Central offers courses in the following Career and Technical Education (CTE) areas: Agriculture, Architecture & Construction, Business & Marketing, Education, Health Sciences, Cosmetology, and Manufacturing. Some of these courses offer dual credit or industry certification opportunities. At the end of the 2018-2019 school year, eighty-one percent of graduates were earning college credit or a career credential while the state average was sixty-eight percent. This data speaks volumes to the opportunities given to students at West Central.

Many of the CTE courses continue to grow each year. In the 2019-2020 school year, many new courses were added with high enrollment numbers. Between 2018-2019 to 2019-2020 school year four courses had over a one hundred percent increase in their enrollment:

Health Science Education I

Introduction to Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources

Introduction to Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics

Preparation for College/Career.

During the 2020-2021 school year, West Central offered twenty-nine CTE courses which helped to create ten career pathways for students to pursue. West Central collaborates with local businesses and agencies to provide work-based learning, job shadowing, and internship opportunities to students. These collaborations are valuable, as they allow students to connect what they are learning, in all their courses, to the real world of work. Local businesses and industries then have the opportunity to recruit students for full-time employment after graduation.

The following West Central CTE teachers had this to say about their programs:

Jennifer Johns, RN, BSN - Health Science Education – “I am very honored to teach all my Career and Technical Education classes, especially the Certified Nursing Assistant class. The CNA class gives the opportunity for students to not only graduate with their high school diploma but also a CNA license and they can begin working upon graduation. The CNA course is not intended for a student to stop their education but to be able to work in the Healthcare field while pursuing their education in Healthcare. I also factor in that sometimes college is not the right fit for everyone or right at this time. This allows a student to be ready for the workforce and begin preparing for the World of work. I am bringing in over 17 years of Emergency Room experience and I continue to keep up with my skills as an ER Nurse and House supervisor at Pulaski Memorial Hospital. I enjoy having a part in educating our future healthcare workers.”

William Amsler – Welding Technology - “Teaching Welding at West Central is gratifying because I am able to watch students develop skills that could possibly support them for years to come. It is amazing to watch the students that have struggles in a traditional classroom setting excel in a hands-on classroom environment.”

West Central High School is a member of the Indian Trails Career Cooperative. Indian Trails serves over 3,500 students, in ten high schools, across five counties.