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Coffee County Schools Career Technical Education Director Richard Skipper explained the ins and outs of the school district’s CTE program during the September Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon.

Skipper said a lot has changed with Career Technical Education since his days as a student at Coffee County Central High School.

“For a lot of us, when we were in school it was called vocational…so not only has the name changed but it has changed because the dynamics have changed completely,” he said.

Skipper said CTE in the state of Tennessee is at the very forefront of the nation, and Coffee County Schools continues to work on expanding and refining the program to benefit as many students as possible.

While for some, CTE is something most associated with high school education, Skipper said the district has been making strides in offering more CTE opportunities for its elementary-aged students.

“We are in our third year using a platform in fourth and fifth grade and it is through MajorClarity, it is our career exploration program that our county purchases for our students,” Skipper said.

The program allows students to explore different career paths assisting them in determining some areas they might be interested in pursuing during their high school career.

Skipper said last year was the district’s second year utilizing the program, and they had a 100% participation amongst fourth and fifth grade students.

Over at Coffee County Middle School, Skipper said students continue on with the MajorClarity program.

“MajorClarity itself has 67 different occupations and every time they go into this platform, and they are answering questions… everything that they are showing interest in starts moving to the top,” Skipper said.

By the time students are in eighth grade, they have an established top five possible career paths, offering a more educated choice moving forward.

Skipper said middle school students are also utilizing a new program for this year called Zspace, which was made available through grant funding. The program allows middle school students to have a virtual hands-on experience with things that previously might only be available at the high school level.

“This is a new thing and it is basically three-dimensional,” Skipper said. “This software, I did one with a kid the other day where they pulled a heart out and they rotated it and they took the back side off a heart so they could see how everything was pumping.”

At the Coffee County Raider Academy, the district’s ninth grade school, Skipper said a new Festo lab is currently under construction. Designed in Germany, the lab will allow students to explore a variety of areas including aerodynamics, electricity, process engineering, mechanisms, electronics, mechatronics, environmental and alternative energy.

“It is our kids getting their hands on, getting to look into, getting to practice, and what it has a direct effect on is a lot of our trades, our trade programs like welding, machining, construction, those type of activities that we may not be able to start the program, we give them a head start through this technology to see if this is something they really want to go into once they start high school,” he said.

When students reach Coffee County Central High School, students should have an idea of the career paths that they might be interested in pursuing, and can begin earning credit in some of those areas towards higher education.

Duel credit courses allow students to earn college credits during their time at high school, which can mean an earlier college graduation and less money needed for tuition.

“This year we added two more duel enrollment for the Tennessee College of Applied Technology,” Skipper said. “Last year we introduced welding as our first duel enrollment on campus.”

Skipper said last year 20 students participated in the welding program, and this year there are 25.

“They are going to turn a 19 month program after they graduate into about a six month program,” he said. “It is kickstarted, costing them nothing.”

The district also added construction and cosmetology to its duel credit offerings this year.

Skipper said 389 college course credits were awarded to CCCHS students last year.

Another important aspect of the career-oriented programs at the high school is its work-based learning program, which has about 100 students participating this year.

Skipper said it is important students are able to have these experiences, so they are prepared for the next step in their lives after graduation.

“The one thing we know for sure is our kids are going to be something, we just don’t know what,” he said. “That is our job, that is our goal…is how can we help them figure out what that something is going to be.”