Marking CTE Month

Feb. 1 began the annual celebration of career and technical education. Students and faculty at Hays High School will join others across the nation during the month of February to celebrate national Career and Technical Education Month.

This year's theme is "CTE: Careers Through Education." CTE Month provides CTE programs across the country an opportunity to demonstrate how CTE educates students to be college- and career-ready and prepares them for high-wage, high-demand career fields.

We at Hays High are proud of the accomplishments of our CTE programs and newly implemented pathways.

We currently have nine career cluster pathways in which our students can participate. They are AV communications, web and digital communications, agriculture science and plant systems, design and pre-construction, construction, business finance, family and community services, production, and marketing. Our students have had much success in local, state and national competitions showing their talents in their prospective pathways. National awards for our school newspaper with the prestigious PACE award, third-place national land judging accomplishments in our FFA program, national qualifiers and finishers in our DECA program, consistent top-three state placing for our Kansas Electro Rally racing team, state trophies in video broadcasting, regional tech fair medals for many students in our drafting, construction, welding and computer graphics classes, and more awards too numerous to mention.

The awards, accomplishments, and projects planned and completed by our students illustrates the rigor and relevance CTE courses offer our students. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the business community when and where applicable. CTE programs are investing in students' lives with the latest technology and skills that will prepare them to become successful employees as well as future leaders.

CTE is a major part of the solution to myriad national economic and workforce problems, such as high dropout rates, a weakened economy, global competitiveness and massive layoffs. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one-third of the fastest growing occupations will require an associate's degree or a postsecondary vocational certificate. Recent research published by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce shows 4.7 million new workers will be needed with post-secondary certificates and credentials, such as those which can be obtained at HHS by 2018.

Without CTE programs the U.S. will fall short of meeting that demand. At a time when job opportunity is so critical, CTE programs in every community are ensuring students are adequately equipped with the skills to successfully enter the workforce. We are excited about the endless opportunities with our CTE programs at HHS. We're proud of what we have accomplished and where we are going. The future is bright with our students, programs and staff at HHS. We are excited to help develop careers through education.

Tom Albers

Hays High Assistant principal