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Berkeley County highlights growth in CTE programs and student industry credentials
Summary
The district's CTE director reported nearly 100 course offerings, new programs for next year and partnerships—highlighting middle-school greenhouses, a therapeutic-services pathway with WVU Hospital, and expanded credentialing opportunities for students.
Berkeley County Schools presented a broad update on career and technical education (CTE), outlining new courses, partnerships and hands-on opportunities that administrators said will expand students' job-ready skills.
Mister Pack, the district CTE presenter, told the Board that the system now offers "almost 100 CTE courses in our high school" and described new concentrations introduced this year including tourism, social journalism and a building-and-maintenance-operations program at Musselman High School.
Pack said the district will add multimedia publishing, building maintenance operations and therapeutic services next year. He described a partnership with WVU Hospital that selected 10 students at Martinsburg High School and Spring Mills High School for a two-year therapeutic-services concentration; "At all of the students' completion of this concentration, the student will be employed at WVU hospital here in Martinsburg," Pack said.
The presenter also described middle-school CTE pilots: Mountain Ridge Middle and South Middle will have year-round greenhouses and future chicken coops with laying hens. Pack said those programs will count toward CTE accountability indicators and provide hands-on lessons in plant and animal science.
Accountability figures presented to the board included: 69% of middle-school students enrolled in at least one middle-school CTE course and 62% of high-school students enrolled in at least one CTE course this year; about 24% of high-school students were taking at least two CTE courses. Pack said 11% of high-school students engaged in official work-based learning opportunities and that roughly 74% of students who took the national technical assessment (NOCTI) met the performance standard.
Board members and the superintendent praised student speakers and program staff who joined the meeting: students from baking and pastry, broadcasting, robotics (VEX), and Hedgesville FFA described real-world projects, simulated workplaces and community service. Students described ServSafe and forklift and OSHA 10 certificates and a bakery that supplies events and staff breakfasts as examples of applied learning.
Pack said additional facility and equipment investments are planned, and he highlighted two instructors who are retiring after long service to CTE. He also reiterated the district's longer-term goal of a dedicated CTE center to expand offerings "beyond what we can do within high schools."
Ending: The board applauded students and staff; trustees asked administration to return periodic CTE updates and to include budgetary detail for planned facility expansions and credentialing support.
