For the foreseeable future, Ector Count ISD’s career and technical social media feed will be filled with students of the month from each career pathway.
Executive Director of Career and Technical Education Carla Byrne said CTE Coordinator Kyrsten Nall and CTE Dual Credit Counselor Marci Tombosky attended the Career and Tech Association of Texas conference in February. They heard about the idea from another district.
About 23 students were just recognized, but that does not include their Odessa College programs. Information will be sent to OC so they can recognize the CTE dual credit academy students.
That way a licensed vocational nurse, firefighter and criminal justice student of the month can be recognized, for example.
There also is a quote from a teacher included in the student recognition.
“… It’s really just a simple way to highlight students in our programs of study and we don’t do enough of that, celebrating our kids,” Byrne said.
She added that there are so many great students in CTE who shine and are bright spots in Ector County ISD.
Teachers from every program of study came together to nominate students.
“They have to work as a team because a lot of our programs of study are large. For example, we have six welding instructors, so they have to come to the table and agree upon a student. But we’re going to do a student every single month. Our only regret is we didn’t start at the beginning of the school year. We’re going to keep this going indefinitely, because it’s just so terrific. It really helps the kids to show our appreciation to them for their hard work and accomplishments. …,” Byrne said.
Hopefully, she said it will encourage other students to improve and shine as well.
“It’s really cool,” she said.
There are 7,200 students in career and technical education.
“… In addition to highlighting the students, it showcases the programs of study, as well. A lot of people are unaware of the varying programs of study that we offer in CTE and it’s a large array of programs. So it’s kind of a win-win,” Byrne said.
She added that there were about 8,000 students in CTE before COVID and the numbers are headed back up there.
A lot of students didn’t go to school and CTE is very hands on, Byrne noted.
“… We can do so much more face to face …,” she said.
“We’re seeing kids being successful and doing great things. Our Career Tech student organizations have just exploded with participation this year, and all of our state qualifiers and national champions for BPA, so things are looking up. … That’s good for kids and teachers in our community,” Byrne added.
She noted that students are likely extra motivated now that they are back in school in person again.
“You think about how hard COVID was on kids, especially when they were remote and losing that connection that you feel when you’re with your peers, and that you feel with your teachers,” Byrne said.
She noted that CTE teachers are with their students for several years in a row as they work through a three or four year comprehensive program of study.
“And so they have a greater amount of time to bond with the kids and really helped them to grow as individuals. I think having them back in class … you could see the spark in their eyes. It’s just really hard to articulate, but I can say as a district we are super excited to have our kids back,” Byrne said.
The department has a CTE Facebook page, a CTE Twitter handle and they just created a CTE Instagram account. They are also recognizing the students on TV screens in the schools.
“We’re working really hard to showcase our students and our programs more than we ever have in the past. And recognizing that social media is a great tool to utilize for this purpose, so we’re … just marketing our kids and programs,” she added.
Byrne said she talks to a lot of people in the community who aren’t aware of the variety of programs offered under CTE.
Byrne noted that this is a great marketing tool. The hope is that someone who didn’t select CTE in eighth grade to start their four-year plan might have their interest sparked in at least exploring it.
That could end up turning into a career for students, she said.
“… A lot of times just getting in there and trying it out really sparks that lifelong interest in a career pathway. That’s the purpose of what we do …,” Byrne said.
