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Pekin CTE leaders highlight pathways, dual credit and student organizations
Summary
CTE Department Chair Henny Brown told the board the department offers 75 courses across 32 pathways, had 1,378 participants in 2025 with 1,040 concentrators, and runs student programs including Dragon Café and a Building & Trades house project.
Henny Brown, chair of Pekin Community High School’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department, presented program scale and outcomes at the Feb. 23 board meeting. Brown said the department includes 23 teachers (six PCHS alums), offers 75 CTE courses across 32 pathways, and in 2025 had 1,378 participants and 1,040 concentrators.
Brown described multiple hands-on and credentialing efforts: 204 students participate in organizations such as FFA, SkillsUSA and Educators Rising; the Dragon Café (an extension of PCHS Culinary) serves lunch twice weekly and the program is pursuing a food manager’s card for Culinary II students; the Building & Trades program constructs a house every two years; 48 students participate in work-based learning capstones; and the JROTC program is up for accreditation in March. Brown said future goals include increasing employer-recognized credentials and articulated culinary credit with ICC.
The board recognized recent student successes during the same portion of the meeting, citing five students qualifying for state speech and Brooklynn Garcia’s fifth-place finish at the IHSA Speech State Championship.
