EXPLORING NEXT STEPS: RISING 7TH AND 8TH GRADERS PARTICIPATE IN CTE SUMMER ACADEMY
There’s no time like the summer to explore future career opportunities. For Aiken County Public School’s rising 7th and 8th graders, the CTE Summer Academy was a gateway toward technical education.
The Aiken County Career and Technology Center hosted its 5th annual CTE Summer Academy from Monday, June 1 – Thursday, June 4.
Over 200 students were introduced to nearly a dozen different technical and career learning opportunities including Project Lead the Way Biomedical Science, Culinary, Cosmetology, Fashion Design, Barbering, Coding and more.
“Having a program like this is helpful for our middle school, because by the time they reach 6th grade, they should have an idea of the various opportunities in career and technical education that we have to offer,” Alvina Jackson, CTE District Program specialist said.
“It’s important that by the time our students finish middle school and they're heading on to high school that they have an idea of the pathways that we have to offer, including the military, in our district.”
The CTE Summer Academy is free for ACPSD students to attend, but limited on a first-come, first-served basis.
“We want students and the parents to make informed decisions about their education,” Jackson continued. “Our focus is for every student in our district to leave not only with a high school diploma, but also with an industry certification, demonstrating they’ve gotten the knowledge and hands on skills necessary to perform work within their chosen career pathway. Through work-based learning experiences, students come out of high school qualified for far more than a student who graduates without industry certifications.”
