For many incoming students and their parents, the wide variety of Careers Technical Education (CTE) classes here at Arcadia High School (AHS) may seem overwhelming at first glance. This is why AHS hosted the BeyondU Career and Technology Night on Feb. 8 to better explain both the CTE programs offered and their positive impact on students’ future careers.
The event started with a brief introduction from Assistant Principal and CTE Administrator Dr. Jorge Munoz to explain what CTE classes are in general. According to his presentation, “CTE offers a unique opportunity for students to acquire information, utilize this information through hands-on activities, and apply the knowledge through real-world applications of skills learned in academic courses.”
In addition to the presentation, members of Seniors of Merit at Work (SMW), who helped organize the event and guide parents and students, provided informational brochures. The brochure explained that AHS offers five industry sectors and seven pathways in its CTE programs. Pathways are a series of CTE classes that are classified into different categories, with introductory being beginning-level courses, concentrator being intermediate-level courses, and capstone being advanced-level courses.
An important benefit of CTE courses outlined in both the brochure and the presentation is their connection to college programs. Dr. Munoz elaborated that the CTE classes at AHS are “articulated with Pasadena City College, Citrus College, Glendale Community College, and UC approved.” This connection between high school classes and college programs helps students gain industry certifications and gain insights for their chosen career paths.
The presentation concluded with a sneak preview of the Orchesis Dance Company’s upcoming spring production, Forces of Nature, which will be performed on Apr. 25 to 27. After the end of the performance, parents and students were allowed to explore the AHS campus and interact with the various CTE teachers until 8:00 p.m.
For Mr. Frank Sunez, who is responsible for the Media Production Pathway, Apache News (APN) exemplifies the invaluable skills CTE courses offer to students.
“APN is project management; it’s running an organization; it’s making tough journalistic calls about what kind of content to cover. But it’s an amazing class that offers a really in-depth view of what it takes to produce content and media,” Mr. Sunez explained.
For Mrs. Annette Fierro, who is responsible for the Manufacturing & Product Development sector, CTE classes are influential for students’ future careers because of the soft skills they teach.
“For me, CTE is about teaching soft skills that are going to help students in any path that they take. Students need social skills to work with people at almost any job they go into, even if they go into working for themselves. I would like them to learn those bigger picture skills, like how to create a concept from scratch, how to be an original thinker, and how to be a creative problem solver,” Mrs. Fierro said.
The AHS community thanks all of our CTE staff for teaching us the critical skills we need in our future careers and for the effort they put into hosting the BeyondU presentations! Another thank you goes to SMW and Orchesis who helped organize the event and made it even more memorable!
