Career and Technical Education at MPHS

It’s Career and Technical Education Month and Mt. Pleasant ISD is celebrating all the great things happening in the CTE Department at Mount Pleasant High School.

It used to be called Vocational Education or VocEd and it was for those students who weren’t planning on attending college but that’s all changed,” said Dr. Judi Saxton, MPISD’s Director of Communication. “Now CTE has something to offer all students whether they plan to attend college, a technical school, or join the work force out of high school.  In fact, of the 1459 students enrolled at MPHS 1348, or 92% take at least one CTE course.”

Some students take CTE courses to see if they like a field of study. Others take courses because they know it is a field they want to pursue after high school graduation. Still others take courses to earn certifications that will allow them to work in a field to help pay for advanced education.

The MPHS CTE Department offers classes in 11 broad areas: Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources; Construction (includes the Electrical Trades program); Audio/visual Technology and Communication (includes TNT, newspaper and yearbook); Business, Marketing, and Finance; Education and Training; Health Science; Hospitality and Tourism (includes Culinary Arts); Human Services (includes the Cosmetology Program); Law, Public Safety, and Corrections; Engineering and Manufacturing (STEM); and, Transportation (Automotive Technology and Aircraft Technology).

“Each of these programs could fill an entire article alone,” Saxton said. “But here a just a few highlights of these wonderful programs provided by MPHS CTE Director Karl Whitehurst.”

CTE Highlights:

Stripes: The MPHS Culinary Program has a restaurant that is open on Wednesdays. This gives the Practicum in Culinary students a true real-world experience where they do everything from planning, cooking/preparing, serving, and running a cash register. The practicum students are also getting dual credit for their course work.

Automotive Technology: MPHS has auto tech 1 and auto tech 2 students that travel to NTCC every day for 3 class periods to work in the “Shelby Automotive Center” This is a hands-on experience that gives the MPHS students experience in automotive technology and engine repair. The automotive technology students also receive dual credit for the program.

Aircraft Technology: MPHS has students that travel to the Mt. Pleasant Airport every day to get hands on experience in aircraft technology, aircraft maintenance, and aircraft repair.

Electrical Technology: The Electrical Technology program works out of the Industrial Technology Training Center. This program gives students a four-year track that will give them the classroom knowledge and the hands-on experience of working in the electrical trade. Students have access to a lab that features real world examples of wiring. CTE has also added an industry standard Electrical Motor Control Training System that will enable the Electrical Technology Program to take MPHS students to an even higher level of industry preparedness.
The MPHS Electrical students earn creditable hours toward their master electrician license and earn some dual credit course work while in the program.

Cosmetology: The cosmetology program takes students from an Intro course into a junior and senior level Cosmetology program that gives the student the opportunity to earn their license and can go right into the workforce and start earning money straight out of high school. The cosmetology students earn hours toward their license while getting experience from working on mannequins to finally working on actual clients.

Health Science: MPISD offers an impressive Health Science program that gives students the opportunity to do clinical hours at local hospitals, vet clinics, physical therapy, and nursing homes. Our health science students start out in a Principles of Health Science as freshmen, Health Science as a sophomore, and then take a Junior and Senior Level Practicum that not only continues the class room study of knowledge but also gives the students a firsthand look at medical professionals performing their duties.

In most of the 11 areas of CTE, students can compete against other CTE students in regional, state and national competitions. This year the CTE department has many student organizations advancing to the state level of competition.

Four MPHS Texas Public Service Association (TPSA) will compete at State in El Paso in April. Seven MPHS members of the Texas Association of Future will compete at state in Arlington starting February 17. Three MPHS Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members will compete at state in Dallas in April.  SkillsUSA (Electrical Trades) is taking five students to compete at state in Corpus Christi in April. Thirty-nine members of the MPHS Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter will be competing at state in San Antonio in March.  MPHS Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) has their area conference this week and information about those advancing to state will be available next week.

“I am very proud of the hard work that our students and teachers have put in this year,” said CTE Director Whitehurst.  “I think that the number of students that will get the opportunity to compete at the state level shows the amount of dedication and hard work that our students and staff are willing to put in. We strive to do the very best for our students. Our goal is to put each student in the best possible situation to be successful at life.”

For more information about the Mt. Pleasant High School CTE Programs, contact MPHS at 903-575-2020 or Whitehurst directly at 903-575-2081.