• About Career Technical Education

    Career Technical Education (CTE) engages all students in a dynamic and integrated learning experience resulting in mastery of the technical skills and academic knowledge necessary to become productive, contributing members of society. CTE courses, which are offered at all high schools in CJUSD, provide technical training while also emphasizing the integration of core academic concepts such as mathematics and language arts. CTE also instills essential workplace and career management skills that students can draw upon over a lifetime of learning and career development.

    There are several different types of CTE courses:

    • General CTE Courses provide students with specific industry instruction necessary to develop academic and technical knowledge/skills required for employment and postsecondary education. Examples of General CTE Courses include Tourism, and Hospitality; Exploring Computer Science; and Healthcare;  as well as Project Lead the Way courses (ex. Introduction to Engineering Design, Computer Integrated Manufacturing).
    • Academic Career Courses Integrates 50% academic standards and 50% CTE standards and teachers hold
      dual credentials. An example of Academic Career courses includes: Arts and Media
      (art + CTE)
    • CTE Career Capstone Courses offer comprehensive in class industry specific preparation and training for 11th and 12th grade students. Examples of CTE Career Capstone courses include Emergency Medical Responder; Sports Medicine; Welding and Virtual Enterprise.
    • CTE Internship courses offer comprehensive industry specific and in-depth workplace experiences for 11th and 12th grade students.

    The course of study for each pathway determines which classes are available to students. CTE courses are offered in a coherent sequence (introductory, concentration and capstone) meaning that the sequence includes CTE courses with objectives and content that has a clear and direct relationship to the occupations(s) or career(s) targeted by the small learning community. In many cases, Career Practicum or Internship courses are capstones to the pathway experience.

    CTE courses offer rigorous, integrated, technical, and academic content focused on careers that are intrinsically interesting to students delivered through applied, performance- and project-based teaching strategies that facilitate understanding and mastery. With the sequence of CTE courses, students are able to make a stronger connection between school and the real world. Making this connection often increases students’ interest in school and motivating them to go on to college and/or pursue a particular career.

    For more information about CTE, go to the links below:

    California Department of Education Information

    Linked Learning