Photo by Carrie Pryor-Newman
Bond Proposal Includes Expanded Learning Opportunities for Career and Technical Students
By Beth Dombrowa
Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares students for success in college and careers by helping them develop skills, technical knowledge and academic rigor for high-skill and high-demand careers. Goose Creek CISD offers robust CTE programs that allow area students to explore their interests and gain real-world experience in a number of career fields. The 2018 bond proposal includes projects that would further enhance GCCISD’s CTE programs, increasing learning opportunities for district students and meeting the future staffing needs of business and industry.
At the beginning of the 2017 – 2018 school year, GCCISD opened the doors of application-based Stuart Career Tech High School with a class of freshman who enrolled in one of four academies: Culinary Arts, Manufacturing and Industrial Maintenance, Agricultural Science (formerly called Environmental Conservation), and Transportation/Advanced Automotive. Students who were accepted into the program have opportunities for apprenticeships and internships, partnerships with local business and industry, and the chance to earn associate’s degrees, college credit and/or certifications in their field of study while still in high school. The Stuart Career Center renovation was approved by the voters in the 2013 bond, and the academies and courses were endorsed by local business and industry as the in-demand jobs of the future.
The first construction phase of Stuart Career Tech High School expanded and updated the campus, which for years was the Stuart Career Center where students attended part of the school day to take CTE courses. Now a full high school, Stuart Career Tech High School offers expanded CTE programs of study as well as core curriculum courses. Although only open to freshman this year, the campus will continue to grow, adding a new cohort of students each year.
Included in the 2018 bond package are phases 2 and 2A of Stuart Career Tech High School. While currently large enough to house classes of freshman and sophomores, the campus is in need of additional classrooms to support juniors and seniors. The proposal also includes space for two additional career academies: Information Technology and Communications/Global Media, which will provide students with even more career options. In addition, the bond proposal would also add a veterinary medical lab, which would enable Agricultural Science students to earn a veterinary assistance certification. The bond package also includes an expansion of the Transportation/Advanced Automotive Academy, which will include updating the automotive technology lab, a new collision repair facility and the addition of a diesel technology lab.
While Stuart Career Tech High School is a CTE campus, GCCISD also offers CTE courses at Sterling, Lee and Goose Creek Memorial High Schools. Sterling’s current construction lab currently can only safely accommodate 15-17 students, yet student interest in construction coursework is greater. With voter approval, the 2018 bond would fund a new construction technology building. The current construction lab would then be converted into additional space for the Health Science Academy, which is housed at Sterling and is the district’s fastest growing academy. The current cosmetology lab on the campus also would be converted into a Health Science industry certification lab.
Also included in the bond package is a Robotics lab, which would provide the district’s robotics team an arena to practice with their robot. Student interest in robotics has grown substantially in recent years, and the district predicts additional growth as participation in elementary coding clubs and junior school robotics is increasing.
Election day is May 5 and early voting begins April 23 at a number of GCCISD campuses. For more information about voting and about the 2018 bond proposal, please visit gccisd.net.