Career and Technical Education

Is your high school student interested in a specific career?  Does he or she already know what they would like to do after graduation?  Would your student like to possibly earn college credit while gaining vocational skills? Perhaps the dream job doesn’t require a college education, but needs specific vocational training.  Wouldn’t it be great if they could get in depth experience now to be sure that it is the type of work they imagined?  CTE may be just the right choice!

Each year, the Berrien County PA56 Career and Technical Education Consortium offers Career and Technical Education programs at various locations. These programs are designed to prepare our youth for a broad range of employment and training services and are offered under the guidance of qualified teachers, counselors, and cooperative education coordinators.

These are shared time programs and are available to all students in Berrien County, regardless of their home district.  CTE programs are usually 5 days/wk for 2-4 hours/day at a high school within Berrien County.  The costs of the programs are usually covered completely by membership in the Partnership, but those that result in specific certification upon completion do involve costs above and beyond what the school is able to cover and the remainder is the responsibility of the parent. There are several programs available at Andrews University as well that are covered only in part by BSPS.

Please Note:  Students enrolled in CTE do need to take any other Partnership classes. Only one other class may be taken through the Partnership.

In order to determine whether a CTE (Career and Technical Education) 
class is what your student should take, go to the following website: 

http://www.berriencte.org/

Under the picture slideshow, click on the pathway you are interested in knowing more about.  Your student may choose between:

Agriscience                        
Arts & Communication                                                     Health Sciences, including the PHCA program
Business, Management & Marketing Technology            Human Services
Engineering, Manufacturing                                             Career Planning

The click will bring up the correlated picture.  Click on the picture in order to get to the details of the pathway.  This will show you a snapshot of careers and courses. On the left side, under the pathway you chose, click on Programs in order to see which schools in the county offer that program, # credits, etc.  

Once you have determined which class your student would like to take, please contact the counselor at the school offering the program to determine openings and time the class is offered.  Contact Sharon if you are unable to contact the counselor you need.

For additional information, contact the Director of CTE programs, Chris Machiniak: 269-471-7725, x3328

CTE registration is also done through that same counselors’ office.  The hosting schools, their counselors and their local CTE Directors are the ones who can determine openings in a class and accept registration.

Once you have made a final decision on taking the class:

1)  Register the student through the hosting school's office for the class.

2)  You must also register the student for that class through the Partnership via our online registration link under "registration" above, using the generic class "CTE".  You must tell the Partnership Director which CTE program you are signed up for.

Complete the student's entire registration form online and paperwork with us and your student will be set for the fall.  You will need to re-register with the Partnership in the spring to ensure that the Partnership continues to pay for the CTE program.