Wicomico CTE leaders report higher participation, expand apprenticeships and evening ‘Twilight’ courses

Wicomico County Public Schools presented an update on career and technical education on the district’s work-session agenda, reporting higher CTE participation among current graduates and new programs to boost credential attainment and employer connections.

District presenters said the current-year cohort includes 968 graduating students; roughly two-thirds have taken at least one CTE course and a little over one-third have taken three or more courses, which the Maryland Department of Labor definitions treat as a “completer.” The presenters said about 389 students are projected as CTE completers under that definition and that postsecondary placement for CTE graduates is about 82 percent.

Officials said the district is pursuing several initiatives to meet Maryland’s CTE “blueprint” target—45 percent of graduates earning an industry-recognized credential. Those efforts include expanding a Twilight CTE evening program, growing Maryland Youth Apprenticeships, promoting industry-recognized credentials (IRCs) and supporting SkillsUSA competition participation.

Why it matters: state and federal grant funding and accountability measures use the CTE completion and credential metrics. District staff said improving credential attainment can support both college enrollment and direct entry into local jobs, and that the district pays testing fees for students through Title I and Perkins funds.

District staff described the Twilight program as a series of short-term, evening courses tied to IRCs. Pilots include a nail technician pathway (a 250-hour, one-year course developed to provide a shorter credential option than cosmetology), a ServSafe food-safety certification term with 11 students enrolled, and an IT-support/cybersecurity offering with about five students. Presenters said the pilot started with 10 nail-technology students and eight remain in that cohort and that word-of-mouth and social media have driven additional enrollment.

On apprenticeships, presenters said the Maryland Youth Apprenticeship initiative has grown from one student last year to eight this year and now includes about 15 employer partners in the county and nearby counties. Apprenticeships award four credits, include related instruction that can be provided by either the employer or the school system, and require 450 paid employer hours; presenters said the employer-side investment is roughly $7,500 per apprentice.

CTE leaders highlighted a February expert review team visit organized under the Maryland blueprint. The team—made up of neighboring-county CTE leaders, employers, school leaders and Department of Labor staff—conducted daylong site visits, interviews and facility reviews. Staff said they supplied 20–30 pages of narrative and live data and expect formal feedback within roughly three months.

District staff noted the American Welding Society credential was petitioned onto the state IRC list with local employer support (Warwick, Chesapeake Shipbuilding and Crystal Steel) and that some IRCs carry fees ranging from about $5 to $600 per student, which the district covers.

Board members pressed presenters on minority enrollment and access. Presenters said minority participation has been stable rather than declining and that constraints on growth include physical space at the Parkside CTE center and staffing; they described strategies to increase access via Twilight offerings and by evening-out CTE seat distribution across comprehensive high schools. Presenters also noted transportation is a barrier for apprenticeships when employer sites are outside Salisbury.

Speakers - “Mister Ashby,” staff member (CTE presenter) - “Mister Witty,” staff member (CTE presenter) - “Billy,” staff member (unnamed role; referenced during the presentation) - Doctor Stauffer, Superintendent (referenced) - Doctor Anis, Board member (asked about minority enrollment) - Mister Palmer, Board member (asked about space and limitations)

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Discussion vs. decision - Discussion: Data on participation, completion and credentialing; outcomes from expert review visit; details of Twilight pilot and apprenticeship growth; barriers (space, staffing, transportation). - Direction: Staff said they will continue pursuing IRCs, expand Twilight and apprenticeship opportunities and wait for the expert-team report. - Formal action: None recorded in the transcript.

Clarifying details [{"category":"graduating_cohort","detail":"current-year graduating students","value":968,"units":"students","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mister Witty"},{"category":"cte_completers_projected","detail":"students projected to complete CTE (3 or more courses by Dept. of Labor definition)","value":389,"units":"students","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Billy"},{"category":"postsecondary_placement","detail":"postsecondary placement rate for CTE graduates (college, military, or employment)","value":82,"units":"percent","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mister Ashby"},{"category":"irc_goal","detail":"Maryland blueprint goal for industry-recognized credentials among graduates","value":45,"units":"percent","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mister Witty"},{"category":"apprenticeship_size","detail":"Maryland Youth Apprenticeship students this year vs last year","value":"8 (up from 1 last year, cited as 800% increase)","units":"students","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mister Ashby"},{"category":"apprenticeship_hours","detail":"required paid employer hours for youth apprenticeship","value":450,"units":"hours","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mister Ashby"},{"category":"apprenticeship_employer_investment","detail":"approximate employer cost for 450 paid hours","value":7500,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Mister Ashby"},{"category":"twilight_pilot_enrollment","detail":"nail technician pilot initial and continuing enrollment","value":"10 initial, 8 continuing","units":"students","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mister Ashby"},{"category":"servsafe_enrollment","detail":"ServSafe pilot enrollment","value":11,"units":"students","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Mister Ashby"},{"category":"it_support_enrollment","detail":"IT support/cybersecurity pilot enrollment","value":5,"units":"students","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Mister Ashby"}]

Proper_names [{"name":"Wicomico County Public Schools","type":"agency"},{"name":"Maryland Department of Labor","type":"agency"},{"name":"American Welding Society","type":"organization"},{"name":"Warwick","type":"business"},{"name":"Chesapeake Shipbuilding","type":"business"},{"name":"Crystal Steel","type":"business"},{"name":"Pohanka","type":"business"},{"name":"SkillsUSA","type":"organization"},{"name":"Parkside","type":"school"}]

Community_relevance {"geographies":["Wicomico County, MD"],"funding_sources":["Title I","Perkins (federal)"],"impact_groups":["high school students","apprenticeship employers","CTE teachers"]}

Meeting_context {"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":7,"duration_minutes":50,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"not specified","note":"CTE has been discussed in prior board updates and spring meeting"}]}

Searchable_tags ["CTE","apprenticeship","Twilight","industry-recognized credentials","SkillsUSA","Wicomico"]

Provenance {"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"s_26.24","local_start":0,"local_end":341,"evidence_excerpt":"We are pleased to brief, So we'll jump right into the first slide. We're gonna share a bit of data, as to the state of CTE. Oh, we get to run our own. So, each year as we prepare to reflect back, we really take a deep dive into data. This used to be called PQI or program quality index data.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"s_1180.885","local_start":0,"local_end":168,"evidence_excerpt":"On the final summary slide, where we see things where we see things going, we're working on our, grant right now. Supplementing Twilight, that has been a experience, but a good experience. That's something that, not many districts in Maryland are doing is trying to do Twilight CTE, and people have asked, especially Billy, where that's 1 of his primary responsibilities. How does it look? How do you do it? How do you find teachers?", "reason_code":"topicfinish"}] }