CTE holds open house

Career and technical education students in the Copper Country have enjoyed a week off, so the facility can hold an open house. The Hancock location has welcomed 10th graders from across the Copper Country Intermediate School District to tour the programs held inside the East Quincy Street building, and at off-site partners like Michigan Technological University, Gogebic Community College and Canal View.

The tours were also available to students attending virtually or those who are homeschooled. They are free to enroll in classes, but must do so through a high school counselor. The ISD’s CTE program now has 12 separate offerings, up from three prior to 2017. The variety of courses is thanks to a millage passed by the region’s voters. It also allows CTE to reimburse districts for transportation costs. In recent years, students have earned state and national recognition for their achievements.

According to a press release, “Students were broken into groups and rotated between the Career Tech Center and partner institutions for the tour. The students simultaneously toured the Career Tech Center’s programs (Automotive Technology, Construction Technology, Health Careers, Welding/Manufacturing, and the Education program typically held at Gogebic Community College’s Houghton campus). Other groups were on busses traveling to the Certified Nurse Aide program embedded in the long-term care facility, Canal View. Additionally, a group toured the Jutila Center learning about the CTE Graphics/Marketing class, which uses industry-level hardware and software placed in a post-secondary setting. Lastly, a group rotated through labs at Michigan Tech to learn about CTE Mechatronics by touring the pneumatics lab, a lab with programmable robotic arms often found in automated facilities, the computer lab used for computer-aided design, and enjoyed learning about careers in the field.”