Report Card Part XI:

The relevance of a Career and Technical Education (CTE) is evident both to students and visitors who come to Monroe Technology Center (MTC) in Leesburg. The courses taught at MTC are intended to directly relate to the individual student and his or her identified goals and aspirations. In a nation focused on high academic and technical achievements–and the recognized need for a skills-driven education as well–many high school students still struggle to connect the dots between the courses they take, their lives and the future.

MTC, like other CTE centers in the country, has connected the dots. Once students recognize the relevance of that education in their futures–as well as the financial potential–their interest and performance generally rises. Both the students and their communities are best served when public education combines a meaningful high school educational experience with the knowledge that the future requires continuous learning–and always innovation.

CAREER CLUSTERS

Nationally, CTE has developed around an organization of “Career Clusters” – identifiable programs of study, and a pathway or “stepping stone” to possible careers. In essence, Career Clusters allow high school students to declare a major, much as college students do. Students are able to select a field of interest in high school, and begin studying a variety of career options within that cluster. It is never too soon for exploration and opportunity, and enthusiasm about learning is particularly beneficial to high school students who may have become indifferent to their education.

Today, Loudoun County Public School juniors and seniors may choose from MTC’s five Career Clusters and associated cluster programs, which include:

Communications, Art and Media

• Computer and Digital Animation
• Graphics Communication
• Television Production/Digital Moviemaking

Human and Environmental Services

• Cosmetology
• Nail Design
• Culinary Arts
• Greenhouse/Floriculture
• Nursery/Landscape

Health and Public Services

• Administration of Justice
• Health and Medical Services
• EMT/Firefighter
• Practical Nursing
• Radiology

Engineering and Industrial Technologies

• Auto Services
• Collision Repairs
• Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Services
• Masonry
• Welding
• Building Construction

Information Technology

• Computer Integrated Engineering and Design (CIED)
• Computer Network Administration
• Computer Systems Technology

MTC offers more than 25 programs in these five clusters. All MTC courses carry three high school credits, representing elective courses. MTC's enrollment at approximately 500 students finds the facility at capacity, and all the while the application process has become more competitive as interest and course offerings expand.

Programs of Study at Monroe Technology Center include:

• Administration of Justice
• Advanced Networking
• Auto Servicing Technology
• Biotechnology
• Building Construction
• Computer & Digital Animation
• Computer Integrated Engineering & Design
• Computer Systems Technology
• Cosmetology
• Culinary Arts
• Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
• Environmental Plant Sciences
• Firefighter
• Graphic Communications
• Greenhouse Management/Floriculture
• Health and Medical Sciences
• Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
• Licensed Practical Nursing
• Masonry
• Nail Design
• Nursery and Landscape Management
• TV Production/Digital Moviemaking
• Veterinary Science
• Welding

POST SECONDARY CTE 

Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses are organized around the career themes, and additionally allow for an easy transition from high school to two-year and four-year colleges, or other post-secondary education.

CTE programs of studies are aligned with community colleges and other post secondary education providers in an agreed upon although evolving framework. The coordinated efforts between secondary and post-secondary learning also seek to avoid repetition of coursework and materials already mastered.

Career options within each career cluster are also identified. Students are therefore aware of the level of education and certification required for each career potential, whether it be an associate’s degree or less, or a bachelor’s degree or more. MTC students benefit from “dual enrollment” in some courses, allowing them to earn college credit for the courses taken at MTC.

DUAL ENROLLMENT COLLEGE CREDIT PROGRAMS CURRENTLY AT MTC

MTC students have the opportunity for dual-enrollment through Northern Virginia Community College and Virginia Tech.

Northern Virginia Community College:

• Administration of Justice
• Auto Servicing Technology
• Computer & Digital Animation
• Greenhouse Management/Floral Design& Nursery Landscape Management
• Health & Medical Sciences
• MTC LPN recipients qualify for the one-year
• Registered Nurse Associate Degree Program

Virginia Tech:

• Greenhouse Management/Floral Design and Nursery & Landscape Management

Future dual-enrollment and college credit opportunities with other educational institution partners are envisioned.

INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSURE

Virginia CTE programs are required to follow state-developed standard course essential competencies and most programs target “high skill, high wage and high demand jobs,” according to the Virginia Credentialing Initiative. MTC students also have the opportunity to receive industry certifications and licensures, based on successful completion of coursework and passage of standardized examinations.

A variety and types of examinations verify industry standard knowledge and or skill sets and are generally given in a “proctored environment” and graded externally to the CTE school site. Virginia uses these external credentials:

Full industry certification – the complete examination program leading to a nationally recognized industry certification from a specific testing entity.

State licensure – required state examination before entry into a specific occupation.

Pathway industry certification examination constitutes one or more entry-level examinations in specific industry certification program leading to full or complete certification, which requires more advanced examinations.

Several programs in the CTE secondary coursework require state licensure, including cosmetology, barbering, nursing assistant, and emergency medical technician.

While the market value of industry certifications are directly tied to the specific employment area, the market value perception regarding specific industry certification varies from employer to employer.

Industry certificates do not automatically guarantee entry into a specific occupation, but should be valued as a “predictor of success.” Many of the career clusters and pathways note the additional need for post secondary education. More than 80 percent of recent MTC graduates continued in their education at two-year, four-year or other post-secondary educational institutions.

BUSINESS PARTNERS

In today’s environment, schools are not the only places where students learn. Businesses and business leaders are truly partners in education, and no more so than at CTE centers. Students participate in a variety of work-based learning experiences, which sometimes validate–and other times dissuade–a student’s initial career goals.

MTC Principal Wagner Grier mentioned several businesses and organizations that partner with MTC programs. MTC has ongoing relationships with area businesses, hospitals and health care providers, including INOVA Loudoun and the Cornwall Campus in Leesburg, which has an off-site training for health care programs. Grier also noted the importance of MTC’s advisory committees, which serve as an important source of new knowledge, as well as industry regulations, changes and guidelines.

MTC partners with the Loudoun Sheriff’s Office, Leesburg Police, and Virginia State Police, judges and attorneys for Administration of Justice programs. Students who enroll are interested in sworn law enforcement, but some also want to be attorneys, judges or federal agents, as well as working in other aspects of the justice system.

MTC’s Firefighter EMT program partners with Loudoun County Fire and Rescue Services. In addition to this coursework, MTC students are required to volunteer at Loudoun fire and rescue stations.

Claude Moore Charitable Foundation assisted MTC this year with new radiology technology programs as part of the Governor’s Academy, according to Grier.

Color Craft in Sterling partners with the Communications, Art and Media cluster, specifically the Graphics Communications programs.

GOVERNOR’S ACADEMY

In July 2008, the Virginia Board of Education approved the plans, and a Governor's Career and Technical Academy program was established at MTC. The academy program offers students career pathways in the areas of agriculture, health care, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and transportation, distribution and logistics.

According to Shirley Bazdar, Director of Career and Technical Education for LCPS, MTC Governor’s Academy Partners include Northern Virginia Community College, Shenandoah University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, George Washington University, REHAU, Fortessa, Inc., and Lockheed Martin. Also the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, America Online LLC, Loudoun County Economic Development, The Claude Moore Charitable Foundation, TELOS/Xacta Corporation, Hayes-Large Architects, and Jerry’s Automotive Group.

The Loudoun Governor's Career and Technical Academy serves as a center for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), instructing students in STEM literacy, credentials, and the skills to preparing graduates the for the “high-demand, high-wage and high-skill careers” of the 21st Century.

In the first year (2008-2009), the Governor's Career and Technical Academy at MTC offers new courses, among them radiology technology. Plans for additional courses – environmental and plant sciences, and veterinary technology - are in the second year.

Along with five other states, Virginia received a grant to improve STEM education from the National Governor's Association Center for Best Practices. Here, the grant monies were used to create six the Governor's Career and Technical Academies, established in Halifax, Lebanon, Stafford, Hampton, Suffolk, Arlington.

• The Governor’s Career and Technical Academy for Renewable Resources and Agricultural Sciences in Halifax County prepares students for careers in forestry management and leadership in forestry-related industries, including agriculture, biotechnology and manufacturing.

• The STEM for Lifelong Initiatives for Education, or STEM for LIFE Governor’s Career and Technical Academy in Lebanon focuses on STEM and “hands-on” instruction in science and mathematics for middle school students. Dual-enrollment classes offered at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVA-Wise) Technology Center in Lebanon are offered to students in Russell, Dickenson, Tazewell, Scott and Lee counties.

• The Stafford Academy for Technology (STAT) focuses on information technology, mathematics and engineering with instruction provided at three locations — Brooke Point High School, North Stafford High School and Stafford High School.

• The Governor’s Academy for Innovation, Technology and Engineering (GAITE) in Hampton focuses on electrical and mechanical engineering, with instruction provided at high schools in participating school divisions, online and at Thomas Nelson Community College.

• The Governor’s Career and Technical Academy at the Arlington Career Center integrates instruction in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in five focus areas — automotive, digital media, information technology, emergency medical services and engineering.

• Fostering Innovation and Relevance Through STEM and Trades (FIRST), City of Suffolk Public Schools. The program at the Pruden Center for Industry focuses on engineering and industrial trades, health sciences, automotive technology, information technology and human services.

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) applied, but did not receive one of the initial grants. However, the Loudoun Governor's Career and Technical Academy became the first academy designated outside of the initial six grant recipients.

According to LCPS, support from the Claude Moore Charitable Foundation helped Loudoun win the academy designation. The foundation also provided $150,000 for the academy's planning, and committed an additional $150,000 for the 2008-2009 school year.

Monroe Technology Center Principal Wagner Grier and Assistant Principal Kim Thomas were also cited for efforts to gain Academy designation. Grier’s service in a 2001 task force study of MTC and its programs helped MTC gain accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. MTC is one of just a few technical centers in Virginia so accredited. Assistant Principal Thomas’ efforts on the proposal writing team for the academy designation were also recognized.

CTE Director Bazdar outlined this list of Governor’s Academy Program Goals:

• Improve academic achievement of Academy students by increasing academic rigor and relevance within selected pathways.
• Increase completion of dual enrollment courses.
• Provide workplace readiness experiences through strong partnerships with businesses.
• Increase high school graduation rates.
• Reduce drop out rates.
• Increase enrollment and retention in postsecondary education.
• Increase the proportion of students completing a college and workplace ready curriculum in high school.
• Reduce the proportion of students requiring remediation in college.
• Increase the number of industry certifications awarded to high school students.
• Increase the number of graduates employed in high-wage, high-skilled careers.

A visit to MTC and classrooms–both indoors and out–finds students in varying and appropriate career cluster dress– from complete firefighter gear, to chef hats and trousers surrounded by national “Silver Skillet” awards. Or to cosmetology robes, mannequin heads with hair ready for sculpting, nail design class and requisite gloves. Others may be wearing greenhouse jeans and gloves of another sort as well as traces of automotive grease on clothing amidst a jumble of engine metal and steel–and computers -in automotive classroom. 

Other students are seated in quiet classrooms at computers with screens resplendent with graphic designs and creations for digital animation projects. In the graphics communications classroom, one finds students working on designs slated for replication and printing–everyone a potential “Hallmark” moment. And there is more just around the corner in another classroom, with another focus on another facet of career and technical education.