Sequatchie County High School CTE Mission Statement: Sequatchie County CTE programs prepare students for career pathways in the global marketplace by offering experiential learning, post-secondary credits, and industry certifications.  Students will gain technical and high-level academic skills, equipping them to be lifelong learners.

Sequatchie County High School CTE Vision: Sequatchie County CTE program vision is to prepare students for high school and beyond through academic rigor, relevance in learning, and reason to succeed.  The district wants to provide each CTE teacher with the necessary modern equipment and tools to prepare their students for this goal.  

Overview

Career and Technical Education (CTE) provides our students with a pathway to the postsecondary education and careers required in our global economy.  All of our pathways include the core curriculum plus a rigorous sequence of career-specific courses in the chosen Program of Study (POS).  This combination best prepares students for postsecondary education, for ACT testing, and for careers. The Sequatchie County High Schools offer a variety of programs that prepare students to be both college and career-ready.  Our CTE Department uses current technologies, industry-standard equipment, and business partnerships to create a learning environment that empowers all students to enter the constantly changing workforce.   CTE courses are a great way for students to prepare for the highly technological and competitive workplace of the 21st century and are designed to prepare students for life-long success in high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand occupations and career fields.

Career and Technical Education Programs in Sequatchie County Schools:

• Reinforce state and national academic standards;
• Provide students with instruction and training in career areas of interest;
• Link to business and industry in the region;
• Offer career development opportunities;
• (some) Provide the ability to earn certifications;
• Prepare students for challenges in higher education and a global, competitive workplace;
• Provide rigorous instruction through hands-on problem solving and projects; and
• Allow students to receive college credit for courses taken through articulation with the local community college and Tennessee Center for Applied Technology.

Why is CTE becoming more focused on postsecondary degrees? I thought the whole point of CTE was to let students choose to skip college and go right to work.

Two big forces were central in bringing about that shift: New labor-market realities and a troubling past. Let’s take the second one first. Important changes in the labor market support the need for college, too. A shifting—and increasingly automated—economy offers few jobs for those without some kind of postsecondary training or degree.

Recognizing these trends, career and technical education reshaped itself as a new kind of pathway: one that includes some form of postsecondary training. That could mean earning certification or credentials in good-paying fields like cybersecurity or robotics, or it could mean getting an associate or bachelor’s degree.

Sequatchie County Schools Career and Technical Education does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age in its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups.

Private schools, parents, and students in Sequatchie County may contact Robbie Somerville, CTE Director, for information concerning CTE offerings and professional development activities by CTE.