Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Career Education topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Berwick Area SD outlines CTE '3‑3‑9' overhaul and wins $85,000 grant for medical simulators
Summary
District staff proposed rebranding and lengthening most Career & Technical Education programs so students start as sophomores and complete a senior-year co‑op, and announced an approximately $85,000 grant to buy full‑body medical simulators to expand hands‑on training.
District staff on Monday laid out a planned overhaul of career and technical education programming they call the '3‑3‑9' model and said the district received an approximately $85,000 grant to expand hands-on medical training.
The presentation, led by district staff, recommended rebranding programs to broaden student interest — for example renaming 'rehabilitation aid' to 'medical science' — and shifting most programs from two years to three so students can begin coursework as sophomores and complete a senior‑year cooperative placement. Staff said the change would let students accumulate six CTE credits across three years and added the goal of building 'lab-like' classrooms that simulate workplace settings.
Staff also proposed consolidating two business tracks (accounting and information management) into a single administrative‑leadership and entrepreneurship program and said the district aims to increase the number of 'completers' — students who finish a program and pursue related certification — toward a target of about 20 completers per program.
On equipment, staff said the district was awarded "an $85,000 grant" to purchase full‑body simulators that connect to computers and emulate conditions such as failing organs and other clinical scenarios. "These are full body, simulators that you hook right up to a computer," staff said, adding that the devices would expand students' hands‑on experience in medical pathways.
Staff reviewed current enrollment figures for completers and concentrators and acknowledged that several programs have low completer counts now: staff reported 4 completers in rehabilitation aid (to be rebranded), 2 in multimedia, 9 in criminal justice, and zero completers in education, information management and accounting, with 1 recorded in job‑seeking skills. They also noted roughly 30 students involved in co‑op/work‑experience overall and that some students are enrolled but awaiting paperwork.
The presentation closed with outreach plans: staff said they will run a town‑hall for parents, develop marketing materials and short videos to showcase each program, and return to the board with implementation details.
The discussion did not include a formal board vote on the program changes; staff said they would bring proposals back for later action.
