CTE: Career and Technical Education Courses open up the door of opportunities for all students as they begin to understand the career world. 

According to the OHS graduation requirements, you must have 1 CTE credit to graduate but that does not limit the class you can try. Even if a student has their credit most CTE classes can be elective credits and even core class credits. There are 14+ classes to explore with 4  included here. 

Marketing 1: Introduction, Marketing 2: Advanced, Store Management:

Marketing 1 is taught by Jennifer Fabritius and covers a broad spectrum of basic marketing concepts. It provides an overview of how general marketing works while simultaneously tying it to the main marketing strategies of the 21st century. Students focus on, “being flexible, being adaptable, having good communication skills, and being responsible.” According to Fabritius. When deciding to take marketing 1 you are also provided the opportunity to improve your team-building skills. Fabritius explained that in real-world marketing you are always working with others so it is important to do a lot of group brainstorming and projects. 

Before moving forward into Marketing 2, taught by Kelly Boyer, you must complete one semester of Marketing 1 (preferably the completed 2 semesters), an application is also required. Fabritius stated, “the class is a deep dive into all things social media…and talking about all the different ways businesses are leveraging social media.” The students also advance their skills by participating in online simulations and working in the student store during the midday break. Marketing 2 provides good hands-on job skills that can be necessary for future jobs in business and retail. But the CTE marketing path does not end here. 

The Store Management class is a very small group of students interested in entrepreneurship. To take this class you must take Marketing 1 and 2 and an application that includes a job interview. In this class, “Your pricing you’re promoting you’re doing visual merchandising you’re dealing with customers… They also do all the ordering and make all the decisions for the student store” says Fabritius

Many students who have taken the class all 4 years have had successful careers in retail, opening their businesses, or working at marketing consulting firms, and some students have gone on to new social media management positions. 

Foods and Nutrition 1: Beginning and Foods and Nutrition 2: Advanced:

Foods and Nutrition 1 and 2 are taught by Crystal Pate, offered to grades 11 and 12, and can be used for dual enrollment credit. The goal of the class is for, “students to be able to cook for themselves after they get out of high school.” said Pate. But she explains that the real goal of the class is to provide an understanding that no one can tell you what the best way to eat is, it is all personalized to the individual. 

Foods and Nutrition 1 is meant to expand students’ ideas of food and strengthen their relationship with food. The class does not only apply if you are interested in pursuing a career in the culinary field. Pate believes, “anyone would benefit from it, even if it wasn’t going to be a career because you need to be able to feed yourself.” But the class can also connect to all sorts of careers from health care to sports nutrition and athletic training. 

Both classes create a team environment that is graded mainly based on the ability to work as a team. In the class, there is not a kitchen station for every person. Similar to how things work when pursuing a future career where you have to work with others. When asked what other things students should keep in mind Pate explained that there will not be cooking every day but the class assignments are still very enjoyable for the students and you get to eat food!

Early Childhood Education 1: Beginning and Early Childhood Education 2: Advanced:

Early Childhood Education or ECE is a class that spends time learning in the classroom and working with the children in the Oly bear preschool. ECE teacher Joslyn Trivett states, “High school students are in preschool about 1/3 of the time and in the classroom 2/3 of the time. When we’re in the classroom, we talk about preschool a lot.”

The class develops social knowledge and skills while developing communication and leadership skills. The students can form meaningful connections with the preschoolers. Gracie Hahn, a second-year ECE student explains, “I learn a lot about different cultures and different types of people [which] help me to improve my social interactions.” The class can provide a new experience for preschoolers while providing high school students with extreme educational value that prepares them for future life experiences. 

ECE can prepare students for careers in a multitude of things, ranging from education to psychology. Not only do they spend time with the preschoolers, but they also learn about the development of their brains. Hahn explains, “If I want to go into this career path later on then I already have the work experience.” 

Before taking this class students must be prepared to share personal experiences to relate to the students, “I ask them to share their memories of growing up, to reflect on what they’re learning about a topic, and to share observations from the preschool” shares Trivett. The attitude of students when coming into the class should be positive. Coming in with a good mindset contributes to the preschoolers’ experience greatly.

If you want to visit these classes there will be a showcase on Friday, March 17th during Bear Time. The list of classes, teachers, and locations will be available on Match 15th. More information on the classes in this article and other CTE classes is in the 2023-2024 course catalog.

Linked here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cN5KHwILiTZzW3chE-SOKKlYu6O_d-NK/view

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