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Career and Technical Education

Modern Career Education: Across the Graduation Stage and into a Dream Job

For many, the smell of sawdust or the whine of a lathe was the smell of high school. For a long time, shop classes - as they were once called - were fading from a high school education as employers wanted students with college degrees.

The need from area businesses has changed again. Today’s employers want certifications and experience, and the smell of sawdust is now drifting out of the Career and Technical Education wing of the high school and might mingle with the smell of baking bread from the culinary training program, or hospital sanitizer from the nursing classrooms.

Modern career education courses are meant to get students the skills they need to cross the graduation stage and into a career -- something South Milwaukee's program is uniquely designed to do.

Latest from CTE

Josh Pitzo
‘I love my job … I would not do anything else” 

This 2023 South Milwaukee graduate actually started his career in 2022 as a Youth Apprentice through the high school's Career and Technical Education Program. The Youth Apprentice program is a Wisconsin initiative that pairs students with careers that offer good pay and are in high demand in the state. It was as a junior that Pitzo interviewed with Faith Technologies and was hired. He worked over the summer of 2022 and part-time during his senior year, learning his trade while finishing his classes to graduate. 

steam night
See Yourself as an Inventor!

STEAM night – a celebration of all the work in our schools through the lens of STEAM – Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math – is one of the biggest events during the year and certainly the biggest one-day academic event outside of graduation. 

In this episode, we’re bringing you three audio postcards or snapshots from STEAM night, one from technology, one from engineering, and one from the arts.

Work Based Learning Coordinator 

Chris Daniels
cdaniels@sdsm.k12.wi.us
414-766-5140
Located in the High School Student Services Office

SMWay Podcast: Learning a Living

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The image features the text "EP. 7 Career & Tech ED" against a bright red background, along with various icons representing technology and education, such as a stethoscope, a computer mouse, and tools.
Career and Tech Ed: Learning a Living

History in our country is a pendulum, swinging back and forth, directing where we pour our energy. The 1990s and early 2000s saw a push toward a college education and attendance for all of our students because a high school diploma was no longer adequate for the job market.

That pendulum has swung again, maybe to somewhere in the middle and we’re finding rewarding, well-paid careers are not only for those with college degrees but for those with the skills to excel in a profession, so high schools are adapting and teaching those skills as part of a free public education.

 

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