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Norris expands CTE course lineup, adds work-based learning and new equipment after yearlong review
Summary
Norris School District teachers and CTE leaders presented a yearlong curriculum review that adds ag and welding courses, a work-based learning internship program, and new lab equipment funded by state and grant dollars.
Norris School District 160’s career and technical education (CTE) teachers told the school board on Wednesday they have completed a yearlong review of career pathways and will add new courses, strengthen middle‑school offerings and launch a work‑based learning internship program next year.
The CTE committee — made up of high‑school and middle‑school instructors in agriculture, business, family and consumer sciences, and skilled trades — presented revised program maps and a plan to add introductory and intermediate classes in ag power/technology, ag equipment maintenance, agronomy/precision ag, companion animal, and a fabrication technology capstone for juniors and seniors.
District teachers said the review followed state CTE standards and a five‑year curriculum cycle for CTE and was informed by visits to other schools and by grant funding they have secured. The department has used state and ESU (Educational Service Unit) funds to buy equipment in recent years, including 3‑D printers, a laser engraver, a CNC mill and a CNC plasma table, and a freeze dryer acquired through ESU programming funds.
CTE instructors said the program will also expand outreach to middle school students. The district has run an after‑school eighth‑grade ag class for two years and leaders said the long‑term goal is a standard middle‑school class that feeds the high‑school program and the FFA chapter. Several teachers also said they are pursuing dual‑credit and work‑based learning options: about 13 students have already signed up for next year’s planned internship placements that will be partly on campus and partly with local businesses such as a vet clinic and agricultural machinery shops.
Administrators and teachers described the internship plan as a semester‑based placement that includes resume and interview preparation, employer matching, and credit toward graduation. Teachers said the internships will emphasize employability skills and portfolios of student work, and that placements may be part‑time or semester‑by‑semester depending on athletics and other student commitments.
The CTE group also reviewed equipment and materials needs and noted that program funding is a mix of state CTE allocations (the district noted $7,500 in state CTE funds in recent years), Perkins grant awards in prior cycles, ESU program grants and local fundraising. Teachers asked the board to consider a multi‑year plan for replacing aging lab equipment and aligning purchases with curriculum rollout.
Board members and staff said they will return for follow‑up items on specific material purchases and any out‑year budget implications.
Ending: The CTE leaders said they will finalize course descriptions and proposed schedules this spring so counselors can include the new offerings in registration materials for the 2025–26 school year.
