In the old days, high school kids who were not planning to go to college could take vocational classes. These classes were often out-back, sometimes in portable classrooms or in a shop or garage.
These were considered the hands-on classes and a transition to the real world of work. For the older ex-Wildcats, think of Mrs. Kay Franklin, Mr. Britton, Mr. Easley, or Coach Teague. These were some of the teachers who handled those programs at Kennedale High School in years past.
Today, it is considered mainstream classroom work and judged important whether or not a student plans to further their education via a traditional 4-year college program or to be a work in progress.
To this end, KHS offers a variety of choices for entering freshmen students through a schoolwide program called Career and Technology Education, CTE for short. Be it film, education, automotive, business, culinary arts, nursing/medical, IT (computer, hardware, software, and programming), and, yes, welding and automotive repair.
KHS frames CTE in its overall mission statement as
“… dedicated to preparing all students for success in post-secondary education opportunities by providing real-world education experiences, industry certification opportunities, and skills that will allow our students to thrive in the 21st-century competitive workforce.”
The offerings include:
- Arts, A/V Technology & Communications Career Clusters* that focuses on careers in designing, producing, exhibiting, performing, writing, and publishing multimedia content including visual and performing arts and design, journalism, and entertainment services.
- Business Management & Administration Career Cluster focuses on careers in planning, organizing, directing, and evaluating business functions essential to efficient and productive business operations.
- Education and Training Career Cluster* focuses on planning, managing, and providing education and training services and related learning support services.
- Health Science Career Cluster* teaches students about planning, managing, and providing therapeutic services, diagnostics services, health informatics, support services, and biotechnology research and development.
- Information Technology IT) Career Cluster* focuses on building linkages in IT occupations for entry level, technical, and professional careers related to the design, development, support, and management of hardware, software, multimedia, and systems integration services.
- Welding program of study focuses on the development and use of automatic and computer-controlled machines, tools, and robots that perform work on metal or plastic. This program is dual credit through Tarrant County College. Students travel to TCC two periods during the school day for Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters to earn a Level 1 Certificate in Automotive taught by TCC instructors.
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Career Cluster focuses on planning, managing, and providing scientific research and professional and technical services, including laboratory and testing services, and research and development services.
- Automotive program of study teaches CTE learners how to repair and refinish automobiles and service various types of vehicles. This program is dual credit through Tarrant County College. Students travel to TCC two periods during the school day for Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters to earn a Level 1 Certificate in Automotive taught by TCC instructors.
* TEA has approved endorsements for certain areas for students to earn one or more endorsements as part of their graduation requirements. Endorsements consist of a related series of courses that are grouped together by interest or skill set. They provide students with in-depth knowledge of a subject area.
The following is a video about the CTE program that was produced last year by the KHS Audio/Visual classes.
