On October 4, Illinois ACTE and ACTE visited Carbondale Community High School CTE programs and postsecondary CTE programs offered through Southeastern Illinois College. Across both tour stops, guests viewed several cutting-edge CTE programs.
At Carbondale Community High School, the tour group viewed innovative programs in electrical trades, CNA, broadcast and multimedia, exterior construction, culinary, cooperative education/work-based learning, and the introduction to education course. Hands-on techniques were on display in each class, from shaving patients to crafting a meal for school administrators to be catered by the students.
Culinary teacher Dana Lipe shared how she seeks to expose students to the realities of working in a career in the culinary and hospitality industries. CNA students in nurse Melanie Nelson’s course all expressed their intention to join the health care workforce. In total, Carbondale offers courses in 10 unique career pathways.
At Southeastern Illinois College, instructors demonstrated wildlife management techniques at the Outdoor Wildlife Management facility, located just off of the main campus in a tract of land used by the college to host several programs.
In addition to the uniqueness of the wildlife program, students and instructors in the Powersports Maintenance program described theirs as the only one in Illinois and one of the few in the United States that trains students for careers in powersports maintenance. “Powersports” includes jet skis, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and small brush trucks. The program's motto is "work on the toys that you love." Local law enforcement also routinely trains at the campus's fire science, mine safety, firing range, and K-9 unit training station, of which tour guests were treated to an in-depth look. The college also offers a fully-equipped welding and diesel shop on campus.
College officials also discussed their future plans to expand their facilities to serve even more learners across southern Illinois in the coming years.
The second day of the tour was joined by Carbondale school officials, Carbondale city council members, Southeastern Illinois College instructors and administrators and Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) representatives. Photos from the visit are available here.
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