At California Pacific Charter Schools, our goal is for our online students to graduate high school college and Career ready. One way that we enact that is by providing opportunities to explore and experience certain career paths through our Career Technical Education (or CTE) program. Curious about what exactly the CTE program entails? We spoke to Assistant Director of High School Engagement Tyler Phipps and asked him to give us all the details:

What is CTE?

As explained above, CTE stands for Career Technical Education. The program consists of online classes that you can take to help you gain industry experience, knowledge, and skills that can help you figure out what you like to do and provide you tangible next steps to help pursue a job in the future. CTE classes are aligned to “Pathways” revolving around Business, Visual/Media Arts, and Education. You will have the opportunity to work with your fellow students with similar passions and career pursuits to give you the knowledge and skills to be ready for your life after High School.

How will CTE help me prepare for college and my career?

CTE will give you real-world knowledge and data from industry professionals and our CTE-credentialed teachers regarding various career pathways that can equip you with a great paying job related to your skills and passions.

Will I get to network with industry professionals?

Industry professionals are brought into CTE classrooms via Zoom to share about their salaries, experiences, and day-to-day operations of their various careers. Students will have the opportunity to ask synchronous questions to these professionals to get real-world answers and advice. 

What kind of real world experience can I expect to have after completing CTE?

Although you will not graduate CalPac with a guaranteed “job” in your career choice, you will have the knowledge of the requirements, salary, and opportunities associated with your CTE career pathway as well as the skills required to take the next step in pursuing a career of your dreams.

What is the CTE Academy?

The CTE Academy is a collection of all of the students who are participating in one of our 3 CTE Pathways.  Everyone meets on a monthly basis to get to know each other better, practice real-world skills such as resume building and interviewing practice, and find out more about the benefits of participating in one of our CTE Pathways.  The meetings are led by our highly skilled CTE faculty and are another opportunity to connect at California Pacific Charter School. 

Can I Complete or Combine More Than One Pathway?

It is recommended that students complete one pathway as it is a two year commitment to be an official CTE pathway completer.  If a student is not sure which pathway would be the best fit for them, we do offer an “Introduction to CTE” course which will give students an overview of the various CTE pathways as well as help them reflect on their passions and skills to see which pathway may be the best fit for them.

What are the Three CTE Pathways?

CalPac currently offers three CTE Pathways – Business, Visual/Media Arts, and Education. To learn more about what each pathway entails, read our article breaking down each pathway here!

Graduating high school is about more than just receiving your diploma, it is about receiving the the tools necessary to build yourself a successful life. We love being able to offer career advancing programs like CTE to our online high school students so that their toolbox is full when they walk off of our graduation stage.

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