Tag Archives: Center for Career and Technical Education (CCTE)

Socorro Independent School District administrators will be presenting at a congressional briefing in Washington D.C. on a unique partnership between the district’s Community Education and Career and Technical Education departments that is garnering more success and opportunities for adult students and the local workforce.

The pioneering initiative is being showcased as a national model and was recently featured in a National Skills Coalition briefing titled “Better Together: How adult education/CTE collaborations benefit workers and business.”

SISD Community Education director Anthony Fraga and Career and Technical Education director George Thomas will meet with the assistant secretary for career, technical, and adult education in the U.S. Department of Education and provide testimony for congressional representatives February 6 in Washington D.C.

Fraga initiated the innovative model in 2015, when the district started offering courses for adult learners in various fields being taught by instructors from SISD’s CTE program. Students enrolled in the district’s adult education program can take free courses to pursue training and earn certifications in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); electrician pre-apprenticeship, computer repair and maintenance; security services; and office administration.

“The certifications that we offer to our students are on the list of in-demand occupations here in this region,” Fraga said. “After they finish

our program, we can turn to our workforce development board and they’ll provide us opportunities for our students to interview with employers.”

Since the inception of the program, demand for the courses has increased steadily with the department exceeding their state target of 76 students for Integrated Education and Training (IET). In the most recent year, the department served 184 adult students in IET easily doubling that target.

Across the nation, the focus is on increasing the skills of workers to meet the needs of the workforce, which is exactly what the SISD model is achieving, Fraga said.

“Our program is focused on getting students completed with the certification program or to transition to college,” he said. “We put them on a career pathway now.”

State and national leaders are looking at the SISD model to show other districts and communities how to integrate existing funds and resources to benefit both students and employers, which came about from the strong interpersonal relationships and teamwork that is well established in Team SISD, Fraga said.

Thomas agrees that the partnership was a natural for Team SISD, where departments regularly work together to solve problems and develop systems to better serve the community.

“For our partnership to be used as an example of a national model is a very proud moment for me,” Thomas said. “Mr. Fraga and the adult education office has done a wonderful job in recruiting and placing the adults in programs that they have a true interest in.”

As part of SISD’s commitment to highly prepare students for college and career success, the CTE program invests significantly in teacher training, equipment and software.  The collaboration allows the adult education program to use the CTE resources, such as teachers, labs, and equipment, to provide the certification training at a lower cost with a higher student success outcome.

The successful partnership has contributed to a cost savings of some 70 percent compared to contract vendors, allows for more than three times participation in the adult ed programs, and has yielded a certification rate for the adult learners of nearly 100 percent.

“We support our teachers with the instructional strategies that assist them in creating positive outcomes for our students,” Thomas said. “It is this training that provides the skills to ensure that our students are highly successful.  Our teachers also have a mindset to teach all students to success and that sets them apart from most instructional service providers.  They are the most equipped to support our adult English as a Second Language learners.”

Currently, some 1,100 students are enrolled in all programs offered in the Community Education department, which includes the IET program and ESL and GED programs.

Before they can earn their own shiny badge, the law-enforcement students at CCTE must first learn and share with others the do’s and don’ts public safety.

Members of Teens in the Driver Seat – a student organization aimed at informing youth about the potential dangers of distracted driving – organized the second annual Safety Fair at the school. They enlisted the help of criminal justice pros to get the message across.

The focus of the fair this year is on a topic that impacts many teens: texting and driving.

Asher Torres, a member of Teens in the Driver Seat, said it’s important for teens to hear about these issues from one another, and not just from adults.

“If a teacher or a parent tries preaching to us about the mistakes we’ve seen them do, the information goes in through one ear and out through the other,” he said.

Law enforcement officials said it is important to hear about the dangers of phone use and driving from all sources, including parents and criminal justice professionals.

Officers from Crisis Management Teams were on hand to show students how they typically negotiate situations in which the safety of a single person or a group of people is being threatened.

Students also had the opportunity to visit booths with agents from the El Paso Police Department’s SWAT Team, Crime Stoppers and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency.

The interactive booths allowed future officers to try on equipment and even board the SWAT’s Bearcat vehicle, which served as ice breakers when talking to officers.

“Students can be hesitant to talk to someone with a badge,” said Sylvia Garcia, the law enforcement teacher at CCTE. “When they hear their experiences, it convinces them that these jobs need to be done.”

Garcia educates her students on ways they can make a change in the world through a career in law enforcement depending on their calling.

“If I can make a difference in one student, it makes my job absolutely worth it,” Garcia said.

Author: Andrea Cortez | Photos by Leonel Monroy / EPISD

The El Paso Community College (EPCC) Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Dual Credit program placed first, second and fifth in different categories at the Health Occupation Student of America (HOSA) International Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida.

The 2017 EPCC EMT Dual Credit class at the EPISD CCTE consists of all female students.

“The culture is changing,” said Tony Ayub, EPCC EMT/Paramedic District Coordinator. “Dual Credit, EMT Dual Credit is tangible real-life training for their lives; this is an ideal career for women.” Completing the EPCC EMT program, the students are eligible to sit for the EMT Registry.

The EMT Dual Credit students are part of the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) Center for Career and Technical Education (CCTE) program.

The Medical Reserve Corp (MRC) captured the championship competing against international health occupation student teams. The MRC participants were Chantal Guillen, Monica Ponce, Kelley Ricks, Tiana King, Amber Ledesma and Malia McNair. The MRC presented a portfolio of projects to better their community.

The project that was highlighted by the judges was an EPISD districtwide plan to raise the safety level of school buses by updating first aid and spill kits.

The other two teams sent to the HOSA Conference also excelled. The Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) team placed second. This team consisted of Esmeralda Ponce and Paola Quiroz. The team of Sofia Williams and Mofo Tah placed fifth in the category of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

EPCC engages students inside and outside the classroom which prepares students with marketable skills for gainful employment.