CTE: High standards, innovation, and excellence for college and career readiness
Badger High School joins the State of Wisconsin in celebrating February is Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month. Our CTE Team includes Agriculture Science, Business & Marketing, Family Consumer Science, Health Occupations and Engineering & Technology. We invite you to discover the high standards, innovation, and excellence offered through the Badger’s CTE programs.
CTE Month celebrates the value of career and technical education for our students, the future workforce, and our economy. It’s a time to inform students, parents, educators, community members about CTE programs, and their impact on our future.
More than 83% of students enrolled at Badger High School are taking at least one CTE course. These increased opportunities help students find a viable route to a rewarding career. Many CTE programs provide multiple pathways for students to prepare for diploma and apprenticeship programs, technical college degrees, and industry certifications as well as four-year degree programs and other career and training options. Wisconsin’s technical colleges play an important role in expanding CTE opportunities for students through partnerships and transcripted credit coursework. At Badger in the 2018-2019 school year, 712 students save over $305,000 in college tuition by taking a transcripted credit class through Badger’s CTE programs.
Badger’s comprehensive CTE program is unlike any other in the area, according to Marie Collins, CTE Coordinator at Badger. With 28 high school classes offering college credit (in addition to Advanced Placement) and opportunities for students to enroll in Gateway Technical College courses through Start College now, CTE students at Badger are college and career ready when they graduate.
Beyond college credit, students are also able to earn industry-sponsored certifications in many areas including Automotive, Business, Culinary, Child Care, Fire Fighter, IT, Manufacturing, Marketing, Nursing Assistant. “These certificates let employers know that our graduates are capable of performing industry-related skills at a high level and that they are ready for the workforce,” Collins said.
The CTE Team at Badger works with area employers and colleges to create a seamless transition from high school to post-secondary and or career. Statistics gathered by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Department of Workforce Development indicate that students enrolled in CTE programs graduate at a higher rate than their non-CTE peers. Additionally, new Common Career & Tech Ed Standards that link to core academics have increased rigor and relevance to CTE programs raising them from the electives of the past, to the career preparatory programs that Badger now offers.