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Richland 2 highlights Career and Technical Education growth, funding and certification outcomes
Summary
District staff and CTE teachers presented a multi-school update on Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, reporting enrollment, completer and certification counts, federal and state funding figures, new program launches and constraints on middle-school expansion and program centralization.
At its Feb. 11 board meeting, the Richland 2 Board of Trustees received an academic update on the district's Career and Technical Education programs, with district staff and CTE teachers outlining enrollment, funding and certification results and describing program growth and limits.
The update, presented by Jennifer Morrison, Senior Chief of Academics, and Jennifer Kane, who leads the district's CAPE/CTE programs, emphasized that CTE is primarily supported by Carl D. Perkins federal funds and state EIA dollars and that the district performs a required federal needs assessment to place programs regionally.
"CareerTech Education is funded by Carl D. Perkins, which is our federal dollars and EIA state dollars," Kane said, describing how those dollars support student organizations, equipment, certifications, teacher development and work-based learning.
The district reported the following figures during the presentation: 7,712 students were enrolled in one or more CTE courses; 598 students were identified as state "completers" in the most recent reporting pool; and students earned 961 industry or state credentials in 2023-24. Kane told the board the district received $381,948 in Perkins funds this year and $717,808.21 in EIA state funds (figures presented by district staff).
Teachers from multiple schools gave two-minute program reports. Morgan Curry (Blythewood High) described Project Lead the Way engineering classes and a growing robotics program. Chef Aris Wrightson (Richland Northeast) summarized a three-level culinary sequence that issues ServSafe and ProStart credentials. Clifford Kendall (Ridgeview) outlined a new industry-standard print and apparel lab tied to Adobe certification pathways and work-based learning credit. Alan Olsen (Spring Valley) summarized building construction classes that lead to NCCER and OSHA-10 credentials. Steve Wilson (Westwood) described a district firefighting program that issues nationally recognized firefighter 1 and 2 certifications and college credits. Kirsten Billington (Student Innovation Center) described clean energy and electric-vehicle foundation courses and ASE XEV safety certifications.
Presenters and Kane cited multiple community and postsecondary partners that support CTE offerings, including Midlands Technical College, Prisma Health, Launch Columbia and employers such as Stanley Martin Homes; several programs also rely on advisory panels and local industry partners for placements and internships.
Board members asked about program outcomes, student enterprise revenues and equity implications of centralizing programs. Mrs. Porter asked whether student-produced work sold to outside customers generates funds that return to programs; district staff said those student enterprises invoice business clients and that proceeds are kept separate to support program sustainability.
Several board members pressed about middle-school expansion. Kane said the district offers computer science at middle schools and can provide exposure courses, but expansion into credit-bearing middle-school courses is constrained by certification and instructor-credential requirements. She also said some pathways were recently sun-setted because the district could not staff them (examples cited included sports-medicine and some health-science offerings).
Kane and presenters outlined recent program additions and pilots: certified medical assisting added at three high schools; Siemens Engineering (anticipated for SCOUT) at Ridgeview and Westwood; and fundamentals of artificial intelligence to be added at R2I2 (the Student Innovation Center) the next year.
Board members and staff framed CTE as a set of pathways that prepare students both for direct employment and for further education: Kane defined "concentrators" (students taking a sequence of courses) and "completers" (students finishing a full pathway) and described how CTE contributes to the district's college-and-career-ready indicators.
Board members thanked teachers and noted the district's reliance on partnerships and the need to solve staffing and certification bottlenecks to expand offerings.
The presentation concluded with district staff noting that Perkins-funded local needs assessments (regional collaboration with neighboring districts and Midlands Technical College) inform program placement and that the district will continue to evaluate pathway demand and completion data before sunsetting or expanding programs.
