RISD REPORT
Rockdale ISD’s Career and Technical Education Director Mrs. Britina Pesak has the spotlight this week, and February is a very special month for her department:
Nearly 100% of Rockdale ISD students enroll in at least one Career and Technical Education (CTE) course during their high school career.
A coherent sequence of CTE courses in a student’s schedule plays a powerful role in preventing students from dropping out of school and provides a wide variety of opportunities for postsecondary success and employment.
February is Career and Technical Education Month, which celebrates the value of CTE and the achievements and accomplishments of CTE programs across Texas and the nation.
Students who are actively involved in CTE have a higher graduation rate and see higher earnings, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE).
The theme for CTE Month is Celebrate Today, Own Tomorrow! This month provides CTE programs an opportunity to demonstrate how CTE makes students college, career, and military ready and prepares them for high-demand career fields.
CTE in Texas embraces the needs of business and industry through the development of the foundational knowledge and skills aligned to the Texas workforce.
The strategic vision for Texas education is that each child will be prepared for success in college, a career, or the military. CTE classes play an important role in helping the state meet that goal by making sure students are prepared for postsecondary success—whether that be entering the workforce, obtaining an industry-recognized certificate or attending a two-year or four-year college.
Texas has 14 career clusters for students to choose from, and there are 52 career cluster pathways.
During this year, Rockdale students have already earned over 75 industry certifications school-wide through a combination of qualifications in Welding (AWS D9.1, D1.1, ASME IX), Construction (NCCER), Professional Communication (Southwest), and Computer Applications (Microsoft Specialist).
Career and Technical Student Organizations (CTSOs) enhance this instruction by offering opportunities to apply what is learned in a variety of ways, interact with adults in their selected career pathway, develop leadership and employability skills and address community issues through in-depth projects. Rockdale students excel in career development events through FFA, HOSA, SkillsUSA and certification programs like the Texas High School Welding Series.
Nationally, CTE encompasses 94 percent of high school students and 8.4 million people seeking postsecondary certificates and associate degrees in CTE fields, according to ACTE.
Also, taking one CTE class for every two academic classes minimizes the risk of students dropping out of high school.
Please contact Britina Pesak, Director of CTE (Career and Technical Education) at bpesak@rockdaleisd.net or 512-430-6140, ext. 1021 if you would like to find out more about any of the CTE programs available at Rockdale ISD.
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