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Director's Newsletter
We have had a good start to the school year. Currently, we have 462 high school students enrolled at the Technical Center.
You may have heard that Bismarck Public Schools is planning on building a new Career and Technical Center scheduled for students in the year 2010. The building that we are currently occupying was built in 1974. Bismarck Public Schools shares space with Bismarck State College and the lease expires in the year 2009. Groundbreaking for the new Career and Technical Center is scheduled for April 2009.
New for this year is our Math for the 21st Century class taught by Mr. Hilzendeger, a math teacher from Century High School. The class is a "hands on" math class that shows students the relevance of how math is used in the everyday world.
All programs at the Tech Center incorporate project based learning. Partnerships have been formed with business and industry to give students experience in real world skill requirements. Our FFA and Skills USA clubs let students become involved in civic and leadership skills.
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Career & Technical Education Month
A Well Rounded Life
The Final Jeopardy Answer:
"I wish I could have taken a class like this when I went to high school."
Make sure it is in the form of a question…Give Up?
What is the most common statement career & technical education teachers hear from parents?
February is Career and Technical Education Month, and we are celebrating the opportunities for students in Bismarck. As noted above, parents seem to be the first to realize the benefits of taking one or more of the variety of CTE courses offered through BPS at the middle schools, high schools, and at the Tech Center. With school a distant memory and their middle-age life established, parents see the common sense in taking classes to learn life-long skills. CTE classes help students understand such things as building a shelving unit, landscaping that shady side of the yard, winterizing the snow blower, mending that broken wrought-iron lawn furniture, wiring a music system throughout the house, sewing a grandchild's dress, creating their own business cards and stationery, taking care of that dented car door, etc.
Although CTE classes can benefit everyone, today's employers are crying out for well-trained technicians for their growing companies. Ron Ness, Executive Director of the ND Petroleum Council, told us at a recent Advisory Council meeting that each Monday he receives a list of 50 jobs needed in the Williston oilfield area. These job openings are for service technicians, welders, construction workers, truck drivers, electronic techs and machinists. When Mr. Ness was asked about the salaries for these jobs, he said, "Tell students they are all at least $50,000 per year." This does not include the energy industry, which would have many, if not more, of the same job listings.
Construction of a new Career and Technical Center has been approved by the School Board, and is planned to be open for student use in the fall of 2010. Currently, Bismarck Public Schools leases space at the Technical Center from Bismarck State College, and that lease agreement expires in the year 2009. The new facility would be located across the street from the current Technical Center. The plans are to keep programs such as Auto Tech, Auto Collision, Carpentry and Welding in the current Technical Center. The new 60,000 sq ft. Career and Technical facility would house Aviation, Horticulture/Botany (with a Green House), Engineering/Tech Ed, Medical Related Careers II, Electronics, Graphic Arts and a Resource/tutoring room. A number of industries have expressed an interest in the potential this type of facility has to offer for skilled graduates.
There has been a steady rise in career and technical education programs throughout the United States. Watch for more new developments in this exciting area of education.
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