BY KARISSA MILLER

Iredell-Statesville School administrators and board members welcomed N.C. State Superintendent Catherine Truitt and officials with Department of Public Instruction Friday morning for a tour of a few of the district’s Career Technical Education (CTE) programs.

Truitt talked with students and teachers and observed the district’s programs in action.

“When you are in Raleigh at the state level, you have to know who you are serving, what their needs are and what their successes and what their challenges are,” Truitt said. “In particular, I’m interested in what Iredell-Statesville Schools is doing in preparing kids for after high school. It is something that folks like me need to come and see for themselves.”

Truitt said that one of the areas she is working on at the state level is having legislation that requires all seventh graders to have a career development plan that follows them into a high school.

At Statesville High School, Truitt met with students that in the Teaching as a Profession program. This course of study is provided in partnership with Western Carolina University.

Students who complete the program receive two college credits (Foundations of Education and Foundations of Special Education).

Statesville High teacher Brooke Campbell said that when they began the program this year more than 50 percent of the students in the class said they didn’t want to be a teacher. Now 100 percent of students would consider teaching as a profession.

“It was a special day because we all get to learn something from each other. Hopefully, what we said can help make a difference for others,” said student Justin Sykes.

Some of the students shared that they had never had teachers of color or teachers from similar economic backgrounds. However, they now know that teacher diversity is important and hope to be the next generation of educators.

Next, Truitt toured Northview Academy, where school leaders developed a new vision when they moved into a larger campus.

Their goal was to increase access to CTE courses and provide curriculum to help students connect what they learn in the classroom with the real world.

Last summer, staff members attended training in preparation for teaching the Amped Mathematics Curriculum. In conjunction with the CTE Department, this inspired the creation of “Phoenix Apparel.”

Northview teacher Tim Vallejos said that he has seen student attitudes and motivation dramatically improve.

Students gave a demonstration of how to screen print a T-shirt and how to use their monogram machines.

After a quick look at their program, Truitt toured the Career Academy and Technical School in Troutman. She learned that CATS serves five traditional high schools, home school students and students from a private Christian schools.

CATS now offer 16 courses, including Nursing Fundamentals, Manicuring, Digital Media, and much more.

I-SS Chief Secondary Academic Officer Kelly Cooper said that it was an important day for both students and the community.

“It’s exciting to know that Truitt is a state superintendent that looks for promising practices. It was important for her to see our innovative practices in our schools. These are things that she can share out across the state—practices that others might follow,” Cooper explained.

“I think we are lucky to have a state superintendent and a local superintendent who is focused on helping our students gain work-ready skills and to have a plan from high school to college to career,” she added.

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