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CTE director highlights credentials, mock-interview day and student success stories
Summary
Career-technical education director Ross Short told the board the district is expanding CTE pathways, saw strong enrollment and industry credentials (OSHA, food-handler, Adobe), and heard two student testimonials about how hands-on courses prepared them for work and further study.
CTE director Ross Short told the Stanwood-Camano board the district’s career-technical education programs continue to grow and emphasized the model of instruction that pairs classroom concepts with hands-on application.
Short said many students earn industry-recognized credentials — examples cited include OSHA-10 and food-handler cards — and that roughly 288 members of the class of 2026 completed at least two credits in a single program area. He highlighted the mock-interview day that hosted about 220 students and 35 community volunteers and said the district is redesigning some freshman-level electives to semester-length to let students sample multiple pathways before committing.
Two students, Poppy Hansen and Joseph (Joe) Romano, spoke to the board about their CTE experience. Hansen described learning CAD/CAM tools and serving in TSA leadership; Romano described culinary and shop coursework and said he has OSHA credentials and hands-on experience building projects. “These classes taught me 2D and 3D CAD skills in Rhino and Onshape,” Hansen said. Romano said the program gave him practical credentials useful for employment and that he will take a gap year while continuing fabrication work.
Board members asked about capacity, waiting lists and industry partnerships; Short said capacity varies by program and that additional programs at Lincoln Hill could free space and increase access.
