MVHS Career & Tech Department
Not Your Father's Shop Class
What is Career and Technical Education Anyway?
What is the definition of career and technical education?
Career and technical education–commonly known as career-tech ed or CTE–describes classes that are designed to prepare students for work.
How is career and technical education different from vocational education?
In some ways, it’s not that different. In many high schools, you can still find the same voc-ed classes that existed half a century ago. They prepare students for jobs that don’t typically require college degrees, such as child care, welding, cosmetology, or plumbing. But in important ways, CTE is very different than your grandfather’s voc ed. Many programs now focus on areas typically associated with associate or bachelor’s degrees, such as engineering or business. Because career-tech-ed classes of all kinds are increasingly seen as roads to additional study after high school, they are meant to be more academically rigorous than those of a previous generation.
How many students are really opting for career technical education programs?
A lot. About 8.3 million high school students—nearly half the U.S. high school population—were enrolled in one or more CTE courses in 2016-17, according to the most recent data collected for the just-reauthorized Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, the main federal law that provides funding for CTE programs. That’s up from 7.6 million in 2007-08. Nearly half of the students in CTE classes are CTE “concentrators,” which typically means that they take two or more related courses in a particular career area.
Isn’t career-tech ed mostly for boys? What about girls?
Actually, that’s an outdated notion. Nearly half of the students enrolled in high school CTE courses are female. Gender-based patterns by subject matter persist, however. Girls far outnumber boys in health sciences and human services, and boys dominate in areas like information technology, manufacturing, and architecture.
What about minority and low-income students?
In the past, voc ed was often a dumping ground for students who weren’t perceived as “college material,” which often meant low-income students and students of color. Adults in schools “tracked” students into two groups: college-bound and non-college-bound. They funneled the second group into voc-ed-classes that too often led to low-paying, dead-end jobs. Career-tech-ed has gotten much better, but its students are still disproportionately from low-income households and racial minority groups. In 2014-15, 54 percent were from economically disadvantaged families. Fifty-two percent were white, 24 percent were Hispanic, 16 percent were African-American, and only 4 percent were Asian.
Does career and technical education help students finish high school? And does it influence college-going?
Statistics show that students who take two or three related courses in career-tech ed are more likely to graduate from high school on time than students in general. But they’re not more likely to enroll in college.
If career-and-technical-education students stop with only a certification or associate degree, can they earn as much money as they could with a bachelor’s degree?
Yes. But there’s an important caveat here: It depends on the student’s field of study. In some kinds of jobs, earnings are limited without a four-year degree. But in others, students with only a certification or two-year degree can expect to earn as much or more than those with bachelor’s degrees. Medical technicians, for instance, can anticipate lifetime earnings of $2.2 million with only a two-year degree, according to a recent study, while elementary and middle-school teachers with bachelor’s degrees have average lifetime earnings of $1.7 million.
Gewertz, C. (2018) What is Career and Technical Education Anyway? EdWeek.
The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives. - R.M. Hutchins
John Banaszak
B.S. Washington State University
M.A. Boise State University
Licenced and Certified Athletic Trainer since 1990
Sports Medicine II
Medical Terminology
Website: https://jbanaszak.wixsite.com/sport-med
Contact: jbanaszak@mvsd320.org
Cheryl Breum
Linda Card
Ms. Card has been teaching at MVHS since 1996, and is also a professional working artist.
Digital Photography
Graphic Arts I
Graphic Arts II
Art Club Advisor
Contact: lcard@mvsd320.org
Creativity is intelligence having fun. - A. Einstein
Ariel Dykstra
I have been teaching since 2011, starting in Tacoma, WA. After three years, I moved back to my hometown and started teaching at Mount Vernon High School. In addition to teaching, I am also the FBLA adviser; we have competed at the regional, state, and national level since I started at Mount Vernon and I look forward to more successful years!
Digital Literacy
Web Design
Website: http://wafbla.org/
Contact: adykstra@mvsd320.org
Melinda Elliott
Robert Hand
Greg Hill
Digital Literacy
Robotics
AP Computer Science
Contact: ghill@mvsd320.org
Janet Hofmann
Ms. Hofmann has worked in student services at Harvard, Boston College, University of Wisconsin Madison-Medical School, University of Washington, and Western Washington University, she then taught middle school science for 4 years before starting the ASL program at MVHS. Ms. Hofmann lives in Bellingham with her husband, 3 cats, and one dog, both sons are away in college. She is a serious lap swimmer, and a long time volunteer at her beloved Whatcom Humane Society.
American Sign Language II
American Sign Language III
Contact: jhofmann@mvsd320.org
Free the child's potential and you will transform him into the world. - M. Montessori
Tim Hornbacher
Video Production
Skagina
MVHS Tv
Digital Contacts:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/mvhstv/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/mvhstv/
Contact: thornbacher@mvsd320.org
David Hudson
Amanda McColl
Mrs. McColl has been teaching Family and Consumer Sciences at MVHS for the last 15 years. She is passionate about child development/early learning and enjoys running the Little Friends Preschool program. In addition to teaching, Mrs. McColl coordinates the LINK/Freshman orientation program and serves as the Career and Tech Ed department chair.
Child Development
Early Childhood Education
Family Systems
AVID 10
Contact: amccoll@mvsd320.org
Larry Moore
Contact: lmoore@mvsd320.org
Amy Morrison
Ms. Morrison has been an agri-science teacher and FFA Advisor since 2009. She graduated from Washington State University and is also a Bulldog Alumni! When not at school she can most likely be found working on a project for FFA or in her flower garden at home.
Foods 10: Farm to Table
Beginning Floral Design
Digital Contact: Facebook - www.facebook.com/mvhsffa
Instagram: "mountvernonffa"
Contact: amorrison@mvsd320.org
Ofc. Brien Reed
The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it from you. - B.B. King
Katelyn Schaefer
Richard Spink
JD Twitchell
I grew up working for my parent’s small business and seeing the benefits of being an entrepreneur. Following high school I studied and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing.
After working for four years in marketing and business operations I decided to pursue my passion for teaching. I returned to school to earn a master’s degree in education as well as my teaching license and have been teaching since 2012.
I believe that there are many pathways to success. Some students will go to college, others trade schools, and for some, starting their own business is the best path. I hope to provide students with the knowledge and support to ensure their success and well-being in the future.
Sales and Marketing
Retail Store Management
Social Media Marketing
Personal Finance
DECA Advisor
Contact: jtwitchell@mvsd320.org
Khalie Whitman
Mr. Young
Contact: jyoung@mvsd320.org
College and Career Center
Ms. Paige Bird
Website: https://mvhscollegecareer.weebly.com/
Contact: pbird@mvsd320.org
Ms. Delinda Baughn
College and Career Center
Contact: dbaughn@mvsd320.org