On October 3, ACTE and Illinois ACTE conducted a site visit to three southern Illinois secondary institutions that have demonstrated exemplary commitments to supporting CTE in their schools.
The first stop of the day was O’Fallon Township High School in O’Fallon, Illinois. The visiting officials first attended a presentation and roundtable discussion about the workforce needs of southern Illinois businesses and industries. They highlighted a few of the region’s top industries:
- Health care
- Military/defense activities
- Retail
- Tourism
- Recreation
Following the presentation, the group had the opportunity to visit several O’Fallon CTE programs. The tour first viewed a fully operational television studio and production facility housed in O’Fallon’s broadcast production and social media department. This studio provides students with the complete experience of a modern newsroom. Next, in the early childhood program, students were taking care of lifelike infants to simulate the care and attention to detail required of early childhood education professionals. Finally, students participating in drafting and engineering courses were utilizing spacious facilities with brand-new table saws, lathes, drafting tables, welding booths and more to learn in-demand skills.
Our second and third stops of the day included Belleville District 201’s Center for Academic and Vocational Excellence (CAVE) and the Belleville West High School campus.
The “CAVE,” as it is affectionately known to students, faculty and the community, hosts students from Belleville East High School and Belleville West High School. The innovative building, a former gym site, was completed on August 16, 2022, and opened for students and faculty the very next day. Belleville officials described the strong support of the community for the eventual completion of the project. The visiting group was treated to a lunch prepared by advanced culinary students. Additionally, tour guests were escorted through the state-of-the-art welding, construction and automotive facilities, which are designed to ensure students at the CAVE will be able to develop their skills utilizing up-to-date, industry standard equipment. The facility is also home to athletic facilities for Belleville schools, including indoor basketball, tennis and a driving range. An esports computer lab is a can’t-miss sight when visitors walk in the door!
Work-based learning students at the CAVE spoke with the tour attendees about their experiences with CTE. Each student expressed their desire to learn skills using hands-on methods and added that they are all employed by a local industry partner in an apprenticeship program, which CAVE officials said is crucial to successful CTE programs.
At Belleville West, the tour visited the health care program, where students demonstrated their knowledge of basic medical terminology and concepts. At the end of the program, they will be well on their way to pursuing a career in the healthcare field. Just outside of the building were students enrolled in the school’s landscaping course, where they were creating a stone fence.
Several local officials joined all three stops on Monday. Those in attendance included State Rep. LaToya Greenwood of the 114th Assembly District; Brooke Allen of State Rep. Jay Hoffman’s office; State Senator Christopher Belt of the 57th Senate district; Weston White of the Leadership Council of Southern Illinois; Lee Reese, St. Clair County Workforce Coordinator; and Christine Taylor, College and Career Pathway Endorsement Coordinator for Southwestern Illinois CTE System and Madison County CTE System.
The tour continued October 4 – stay tuned for a recap of those visits!
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