The Winslow Chamber of Commerce held their monthly networking event Good Morning Winslow last week, which was hosted by Winslow High School’s career and technical education (CTE) teachers. The teachers spoke about their respective programs and how those programs not only set students up for success post-graduation in the workforce but also how students enrolled in these classes also perform better in their core school subjects.
The teachers that presented were Quentin Hayes who teaches public safety; Lisa Foster who teaches two CTE programs, business and finance; Afton Foster, construction; Daniel Tafoya, agriculture; and Netalie Barrios, sports medicine. Tafoya explained that the success of these programs can be seen in every aspect of a students’ academic life.
“My favorite part is when students come up to me and say ‘that thing you taught me last week, yeah we’re doing that in math right now’ or ‘I have a presentation in another class but I feel a lot better since we already did presentations in your class,’ that is why we focus on professional development as well as our individual programs because we see how much it benefits the students,” stated Tafoya.
She explained that her program deals with more than just the sports applications of medicine and that she tries to design the program in such a way that students are generally prepared for any post-secondary education in the medical field. For example, she noted that if students want to be an EMT or an open-heart surgeon they will have some kind of foundation of knowledge by the time they walk at graduation.
Ninety-seven percent of CTE students are able to walk at graduation at WHS, a rate that is much higher than the state average for these kinds of programs and really show the importance of such programs for the development of students.
Students enrolled in one of the CTE programs on average have higher GPAs according to the presentation. The teachers also called to the public for any professionals in the area who want to speak to their classes, or even allow students to shadow their work to please reach out to the CTE program head Penny Brimhall to set it up. Job shadows are also an incredibly valuable resource for students who may be unsure of their careers and shadowing someone in that profession may help students make the important decision on what field to go into.
