In Victoria ISD, there is constant chatter about us wanting students to find their ‘And’. As many know by now, Finding Their ‘And’ means when seniors walk across the stage at graduation, they have a diploma AND… will leave us prepared for a successful launch into a career, military, college and life to be a contributing member of society. This is the key Finding of Finding Their' And' in the District Strategic Plan.
We talk a lot about the District Strategic plan because the strategic plan establishes a direction for VISD and guides the District in sharpening its focus to reach the directions established by the 59-member committee that included key community members, teachers, students, parents, administrators and the Board of Trustees.
The Finding Their 'And' Finding includes six directions:
Through multiple opportunities of exposure, experience, and pursuit, all students will explore pathways for learning through project-based, traditional, and technology-rich learning experiences and will engage in additional opportunities for advanced learning.
Through flexible and fluid career-focused pathways, students will have the opportunities to pursue training and career-focused courses.
Academic and technical skills will be integrated throughout all learning opportunities.
Innovation will occur at the middle school level by providing choices for students to engage in traditional, technology-rich, project-based learning or STEM learning environments.
Ensure students will have the opportunities to develop life skills such as but not limited to financial literacy, communication, collaboration, negotiation, and creativity.
Through learning experiences, students will develop responsibility and ownership for self and to others.
What is important to note is that in all of those directions and in the goal of students Finding Their ‘And’, college is not the only ‘And’ the District recognizes. As we’ve said before, we believe there are different paths towards a successful launch. VISD knows college is not the only route, and we want to make sure our students, parents, guardians and entire community know that too.
That’s what we have programs like CTE for. CTE stands for Career and Technical Education, and in VISD, there are endless possibilities for students with CTE.
CTE is an educationally powerful way of learning academic and technical skills and concepts with real world, hands-on experiences. CTE offers a wide variety of course sequences with options for many career opportunities. CTE prepares students to be college and/or career ready by providing core academic skills, employability skills and technical, job-specific skills.
VISD’s CTE programs offer students the opportunity to earn industry-recognized certifications (IBC’s) which allow for a seamless transition into the workforce. These certifications and trainings can assist students to obtain a job that could pay for college or start a career straight out of high school. Some of the IBC’s students have the ability to earn include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA), Certified Veterinarian Assistant Level 1, Automotive Service Excellence Certifications and American Welding Society Certifications. Additionally, many of VISD’s CTE courses are articulated with post-secondary institutions, so students are eligible to earn college credit at the same time as earning high school credit at no additional cost to students. By obtaining these certifications, students are proactively setting themselves up for great, reputable careers or are getting a jumpstart in whatever college program they pursue.
Students can take CTE courses at the Career and Technology Institute (CTI) as well as at either Victoria East or West high school.
VISD knows our students are capable of so much more than any of us can imagine. Having programs like CTE provide them the ability to experiment and learn what they enjoy doing. Finding Their ‘And’ doesn’t always mean college, and if it doesn’t, VISD’s CTE is here for them.
February is CTE Month, though we know it is celebrated year-round at VISD.
For more information on VISD's CTE programs, visit www.visd.net/o/cti and follow us on Facebook @VISDCTE.
Dena Justice is the CTE Specialist and Principal of the Career and Technology Institute for VISD.