![]() This story is the first of a three-part series on key challenges facing career-and-technical-education programs as they attract a new wave of attention and support in schools across the country. The manufacturer wanted a student to help with packaging, but Valerie, a top mechatronics student, changed the company’s plans when she told officials she wanted to do computer coding.Ĭareer and Technical Education at a Crossroads ![]() ![]() A senior at Warren County High, she nabbed an internship at Batesville Casket, in nearby Manchester. Valerie Hubert’s path illustrates that new emphasis. To improve students’ prospects, those leaders are insisting on a new definition of “high quality” programs-one that rests on the option of earning postsecondary credentials or degrees and on the availability of good-paying jobs in expanding industries. Leaders in the field are acutely aware that too many career tracks have trapped young people in low-paying jobs with dim growth potential. What’s happening here in rural Tennessee reflects a growing focus nationally on building high-quality career and technical education programs. Students can go further, too: They can earn associate degrees at local community colleges in mechanical pre-engineering or advanced integrated technology, or head to Middle Tennessee State University for bachelor’s degrees in engineering technology.īecause Warren County High School designed its mechatronics program to dovetail with the one at nearby Motlow Community College, students’ courses count for dual credit, so they’ll have a potential jump-start on any college degrees they decide to pursue.
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