CTE Overview:

     Craven County Schools division of Career and Technical Education (CTE) is committed to providing relevant and rigorous training that reflects the skillsets needed by the workforce in Craven and surrounding counties. By training our students with 21st century skills needed by our local and regional industries, we produce a highly skilled and qualified workforce that will meet the needs of those industries and therefore improve the overall economic capacity of the area. Our programs are aligned and articulated with Craven Community College providing opportunities for students to earn stackable credentialing, certificates and post-secondary degrees faster.

     Craven CTE provides instruction in 100 courses in 7 program areas to 5 high schools and 5 middle schools. Programs are listed below with a sample of courses taught in each program.

• Agricultural Education – Agricultural Mechanics, Animal Science, Horticulture

• Business and Information Technology Education –  Intro to Computer Science, Financial Planning, Entrepreneurship

• Family and Consumer Sciences Education – Culinary Arts, Food and Nutrition

• Health Sciences Education – Health Team Relations, Health Science, Nursing Fundamentals

• Marketing and Entrepreneurship Education – Marketing, Hospitality & Tourism

• Technology, Engineering and Design Education – Engineering Design, Scientific Visualization, Digital Design & Animation

• Trade and Industrial Education – Automotive, Woodworking, Digital Media, Drafting, Emergency Medical Technician, and Firefighter Technology

     Within each program area, students have the opportunity to earn industry-recognized credentials ensuring employers of potential employees’ skillsets. Credentials such as the Career Readiness Certificate, Microsoft Office Specialist, Adobe Certified User, Certified Nursing Assistant, Society of Automotive Excellence, ServeSafe and OSHA provide an additional degree of excellence for our students.
     For years CTE has been helping students understand how to apply core education concepts in English, math and science through the development of workforce skills in a variety of career areas. As an added bonus, CTE has a positive impact on students’ decisions to graduate. Students who have completed at least 4 CTE courses in high school have higher graduation rates compared with those who have not taken CTE courses. In 2019, North Carolina’s total graduation rate was 86.5%. However, the graduation rate for Craven County students enrolled in a CTE program had an astounding graduation rate of 99%. 
     Our partnership with North Carolina’s Eastern Region and regional aerospace industries has been touted by the US Department of Education as being a model for the nation. We seek to expand our partnerships by seeking the valuable input from business and industry in the design and delivery of relevant and rigorous curriculum to the future workforce of Craven County and Eastern North Carolina.