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Students and district leaders highlight growth of Health Sciences Academy, CTE enrollment and workforce pathways
Summary
Students from the Governor's Health Sciences Academy and CTE directors showcased hands-on learning, internship requirements and plans to expand work-based learning by 10%, host SkillsUSA training in November, and run a CTE roadshow to middle schools.
Students, teachers and district leaders used the Gloucester County School Board's Oct. 8 meeting to showcase the Governor's Health Sciences Academy and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs and outline workforce-development goals for the year.
Health and medical sciences teacher Ms. Nestor introduced student speakers who described hands-on learning in courses such as intro to health careers, nurse aide dual enrollment and sports medicine. "In every class I have taken with Ms. Nestor, I have consistently put into practice the skills that I've learned," one senior said, recounting clinical experiences and state-board exam preparation that led to local employment.
Director of Secondary Instruction Dr. Darren Ford presented CTE enrollment trends and targets: three-year growth across clusters, top-five CTE program capacity strain, and a goal to increase high-quality work-based learning experiences by 10%. Dr. Ford outlined a planned "CTE roadshow" to recruit middle-school students and described a new career-opportunity employment program intended to hire students in county operations (transportation, food service, custodial) to build a local workforce pipeline.
Dr. Ford also highlighted that Gloucester High School will host the SkillsUSA state leadership training workshop in November, bringing student leaders from the region for professional development. Board members pressed on areas such as IT enrollment declines; Dr. Ford attributed some declines to teacher recruitment/retention issues and said the division had taken steps to stabilize staffing and grow programs.
The district framed these initiatives as aligned with its strategic goals for career readiness and graduation outcomes; board members encouraged continued outreach to middle schools to expand capacity and maintain program quality.
