The Pipeline
January 30, 2023
Director's Message
Hello William D. Ford Career-Technical Center Students, Families, and Staff,
Fire up Your Future! Join us on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 from 6 - 8 p.m. for our annual open house.
- Explore high skill, high wage, high demand careers
- Tour our state-of-the-art facility
- Meet our industry experienced program instructors
- Participate in demonstrations and STEM activities
- Learn about our no-cost high school and college credit opportunities
- Visit our post-secondary partner fair to explore options after graduation
It will be a fantastic event with snacks, door prizes, family fun, and more.
With students in mind,
JaCinda Sumara
Principal, William D. Ford Career-Technical Center
Director, Career Technical Education and Early College
Program Spotlight -- Work Based Learning
Work Based Learning is happening in almost every class taught at William D. Ford Career-Technical Center. Every experience is unique in length of the training agreement, onsite time at the employer, and compensation rates.
While the opportunities have great variance, some aspects remain consistent. Every Work Based Learning opportunity matches students to an entry level opportunity aligned to their career technical education class. Additionally, students must have demonstrated strong knowledge, skills, aptitudes, and maturity.
Currently, students are participating in experiences at car dealerships, collision repair shops, construction companies, nursing homes, assisted living centers, hospitals, Wayne-Westland Community Schools, and more. Students that are interested in participating in Work Based Learning should reach out to their teacher.
Sunshine and Rainbows Preschool Turns 50
In 1973, Wayne-Westland Community School District created a training program for high school and adult learners interested in the child care field. The program was established at Kettering Elementary School and included a state licensed preschool, named Sunshine & Rainbows, to serve as the class laboratory.
In 1981, the program moved to the Timothy J. Dyer Social Services building. At this time, the program became a course offering at William D. Ford Vocational Center.
Over the last four decades, many changes have taken place. The vocational center was renamed the William D. Ford Career-Technical Center, emphasizing the refocus of programming to support student access to life-long careers. The Child Care course has been renamed several times -- Early Childhood-Teacher Education, then Teacher Cadet, and now Future Educators -- and has shifted focus to support developing and supporting the next generation of classroom and community educators.
The one constant over the past 50 years is Sunshine & Rainbows preschool. Join us to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the program at an open house on February 7, 2023 from 6-8 p.m.
Student and Staff Success
Congratulations to our students of the week.
- Scott Wells, Architecture and Engineering Design
- Jayla Thompson, Health Occupations
Congratulation to our students with new work based learning placements.
- Ashton Burkett, HVAC, Michigan Mechanical Ventures
- Donovan Parkinson, HVAC, Shelby Company
- Nolan Whitsel, Automotive Technology, Michigan CAT
- Luke VanTiem, Automotive Technology, Michigan CAT
- Azariah Patterson, Media Productions, Wayne-Westland Community Schools
- Jamie Baker, Media Productions, Wayne-Westland Community Schools
- NiaGeri Howard-Cameron, Media Productions, Wayne-Westland Community Schools
- Hallie Brown, Media Productions, Bright Futures
- Jesse Jamison, Media Productions, Bright Futures
- Brandon Soyko, Media Productions, Bright Futures
- Maximus Bradford, Media Productions, Meta Lark Publishing
Upcoming Important Dates
January 31, 2023, Construction hosts SkillsUSA Local
February 1-3, 2023, 10th Grade Try-outs with John Glenn High School and Wayne Memorial High School
February 7, 2023, Stevenson Middle School's "Aspiring Educators" to visit Teacher Cadet
February 7, 2023, 6 - 8 p.m., "Fire Up Your Future", Willam D. Ford Career Technical Center's Annual Community Open House
February 7, 2023, 6 - 8 p.m., Sunshine and Rainbows 50th Anniversary Open House
February 7 - 8, 2023, Reality Fair with Community Financial Credit Union
February 16, 2023, Stevenson Middle School's "Aspiring Educators" to visit Teacher Cadet
February 20 - 24, 2023, Mid-winter Recess, No School
Support FordCTC's Student Leadership
Student Leadership has joined Kroger's Community Rewards Partner program.
Sign in to register your card at Kroger.com. Click on Community Rewards. Select or enter our organization name "WILLIAM D. FORD CAREER-TECH CENTER (PBIS)" or organization number "EJ759".
Each time you use your registered card, Kroger will donate a portion of your bill to our Student Leadership team.
There's an App for That!
Wayne-Westland Community Schools has a new mobile app that enables subscribers to quickly access information from our district website. You can view lunch menus, access parent and student connect, save events to your phone from our school calendars and much more. There are also quick links to our district Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube channels.
The app is available in the App Store for Apple devices and the Google Play Store for Android devices.
ParentConnect and StudentConnect
ParentConnection and
StudentConnection portals are available to stay engaged with student performance.
To access the portals, visit the Wayne-Westland Community Schools Website
The links to the portals are in the upper right
If you have not yet accessed your account, click on “Forgot Your Password” and follow the steps
If you receive the message “Unable to Process Request”, update your email address with the FordCTC office.
