• CTE Month - February 2023

  • February is National Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. Charleston County School District recognizes and celebrates CTE Month® to raise awareness of CTE's role in preparing students for careers and college.

    Over the next four weeks, CCSD will recognize various career and technological opportunities across the district that honor the 2023 theme of "Celebrate Today, Own Tomorrow."

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    Students at West Ashley High School are receiving hands-on learning all while “doing the teaching.” The Early Childhood Education Pathway at West Ashley High School allows students to earn college credits while preparing them to be early childhood educators. The bonus is that it is a real-world experience.

    Students are learning strategies to teaching and learning to make lesson plans and are teaching the young children their numbers, colors, and shapes.

    Isis Wilson, a sophomore at West Ashley, is taking her second Early Childhood course under the instruction of Bridgette Butler. She has learned the basic skills of caretaking and is now learning how to implement instruction to young children. The course enables them to work with Charleston County School District (CCSD) students at Goodwin Elementary School in addition to going on field trips to area childcare centers and working with exceptional needs students.

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    Students in the East Cooper Center for Advanced Studies Computer Science classes are getting a leg up on their peers by successfully completing computer science courses that will benefit them in their future educational and career paths. 

    Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Computer Science Pathways, taught by Ian Banker, allows students to receive dual enrollment credit. Computer Science Essentials and  Computer Science Principles focus on app development, computational thinking, and coding. 

    "Mr. Banker has done a phenomenal job with the first two courses in our  PTLW Computer Science program with 99 percent of his Computer Science  Essentials students earning dual credit weighting,” said Principal Jeff  Blankenship. “This brand new course provides an excellent opportunity to  introduce the world of computers, boost students' grade point averages, and  complete a graduation requirement all at the same time." 

  • Students in Erica Wolfsen’s class have their sights set on a variety of healthcare-related careers. The Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Biomedical Science classes at West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies (WACAS) allow them to dabble in an array of biomedical sciences, systems, and interventions.

    “Real-world concepts are taught at all levels through exciting hands-on projects and problems,” said Wolfsen. “It takes dedication and persistence to reach their goal and complete all three levels of courses, but I’ve watched my students push through the hard stuff.”

    Courses include:

    • Principals of Bio-Medical Sciences – In this introductory course, students take on the role of healthcare professionals as they learn how to assess patients, investigate infectious disease outbreak, and participate in emergency response scenarios. The activities and projects introduce students to human medicine, psychology, genetics, microbiology, and public health.

    • Human Body Systems – Students investigate the structures and functions of the human body and use data acquisition software to monitor body functions such as muscle movement, reflex and voluntary action, and respiration. Exploring science in action, students play the role of biomedical professionals to solve medical mysteries.

    • Medical Interventions – Students investigate the variety of interventions involved in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease as they follow the lives of a fictitious family. Students are exposed to immunology, surgery, genetics, pharmacology, medical devices, and diagnostics.

    “Biomedical Science is one of our most popular CTE programs across the district - and is featured at each of our Centers for Advanced Studies,” said Richard Gordon Executive Director of Career and Technology Education. “All students in Charleston County, from McClellanville to Edisto and in-between, have access to this high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand career cluster.”

  • At Cooper River Center for Advanced Studies, Gary Careaga’s Mechatronics Program students are learning everything from basic electric technology to advanced mechatronics.

    Principal Vanessa Brown said that at Cooper River, they are focused on developing highly trained professionals. 

    “Our standards are high because the stakes are high,” said Brown. “We have to produce students who are ready to make a decision about their future. The community is depending on us. It has to be done in a short period of time and taught by professionals who understand what industry needs.”