Transformational growth of career and technical education (CTE) opportunities and student participation in those opportunities is occurring at scale, nationwide, and is one of the more needed developments in public education in decades. So, what’s driving this across the public school landscape? Let’s dig in a little and see.
Liberal arts overplayed
The 1960s and ’70s saw a proliferation of funding sources, making college accessible to nearly every high school senior who chose to pursue higher education. Typically, the choice to enter college centered on a liberal arts degree and was as much a result of parental, social and guidance counselor expectations as it was part of a well-thought-out plan by the student; often simply the “next step.” But unless our steps are purposeful, we’re really only wandering about. So, for the next 50 years, too many college students wandered aimlessly through their undergraduate studies, got a degree, then looked around and asked, “Now what?” Well, Brunswick County Schools has taken note, and we’re acting to make sure Brunswick County graduates have better prospects. So, where did we start? As it turns out, well before high school.
Early exposure and exploration
Since 2023, BCS middle schools have been equipped with Paxton/Patterson Labs. These learning labs are available starting in sixth grade and allow our students to sample various CTE pathways by rotating between 10 to 12 different lab modules on three-week intervals. Students participate in modules covering aerospace, culinary, healthcare, electrical, cosmetology, CAD, EMT and others. As students discover and begin to refine their interests, their hopes for the future and their enthusiasm for school are positively impacted because they now see a connection between school and what they like to do. And this CTE-related engagement filters through to all of their academic work. Case in point: Our CTE concentrators have a graduation rate 7.5% higher than our district-wide average.
Additionally, BCS sponsors multiple district-wide career day events throughout the year for middle schoolers involving student field trips to local business/industry partners and multi-day vendor exhibits where simulators replicate workplace environments. …
Recruitment, counseling & scheduling
In eighth grade, with the experience of Paxton/Patterson Labs close at hand, BCS career counselors and teachers begin challenging students to explore one or two possible career pathways when registering for ninth-grade classes. Just as Paxton/Patterson is in all middle schools, CTE classwork leading to industry-recognized job credentials is available at all high schools. Importantly, this early focus on potential careers does not come at the expense of any core academic classes. CTE coursework can easily be scheduled within the elective load all students must satisfy during high school. But we push our eighth graders and their parents to begin thinking through this well ahead of the start of freshman year.
Career and College Promise (CCP) is another avenue for CTE participation, and we have a relatively new and unique resource available to engage students: a jointly funded position we share with Brunswick Community College, our workforce development liaison. They are focused on recruiting and assisting students to experience CTE through CCP opportunities at the college. Until 2012, CCP was known as dual enrollment, primarily a way to substitute community college coursework for 100- and 200-level core subjects for university-bound students. You can still go that route with CCP. But now a much broader perspective is applied, such that BCC workforce-related classes in trades, healthcare, culinary, etc., are equally promoted alongside academic options. …
Concentrators, credentials and internships
One of our district goals is that by 2029, every BCS graduate will be a CTE concentrator in at least one career pathway. (28.4% in 2024, 58.1% this past year!) A CTE concentrator takes two classes in any pathway and successfully tests for the job credentials that are available at the end of that classwork. But why all graduates? Because undergraduate plans can change. … When that happens, college students find themselves unexpectedly in the job market, too often without marketable skills or knowledge. When this happens to BCS graduates, we want them to have relevant job skills and knowledge tied back to their CTE credential.
But classrooms cannot 100% replicate the work environment in situations like dealing with disgruntled customers, unexpectedly being asked to stay late or come in early, figuring out how to work with folks who don’t appreciate your efforts, etc. These are real-world dynamics found only in real-world circumstances. And that is the true value proposition connected to student internships. Knowing that, BCS has been hard at work growing internships from eight in ’22-’23 to 61 in ’25-’26. A related strategic goal we have is to be at 100 internships by 2029. … Hopefully some members of this audience will consider helping us get there.
CTE classes are undoubtedly worth the investment BCS is making to offer them and worth the effort students invest to become credentialed concentrators. As support from our community partners continues to grow, the impact on the work life and overall prospects of BCS students will truly amaze us.
Brunswick County native Steve Gainey, a graduate of Wake Forest University, is chairman of the Brunswick County Board of Education.
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