Eighth-graders from McMichael Middle School made the rounds Wednesday and Thursday at the Malcolm Rector Center for Advanced Careers and Innovation, getting an up-close look at everything the Career & Technical Education Department offers at Nacogdoches High School.
These eighth-graders still have a few months to go at McMichael, but they will soon be members of the freshmen class at NHS.
Over the two-day period, the students were bused to the high school for CTE Showcase, where current NHS students detailed the course selection options available, led students on tours of the extensive CTE offerings and answered questions that the soon-to-be high school students have.
The eighth-graders also got a chance to interact with fine arts offerings available at NHS, including cheerleaders, drill team, dance, theatre and the visual arts.
NHS students currently involved in CTE courses were able to communicate directly with the eighth-graders while putting on display the wide range of offerings available at the high school.
“Our high school CTE leaders do a great job with the showcase,” said Shawn Lucena, Director of Career & Technical Education. “And our eighth-graders are going to be much more interested in hearing about these opportunities from our high school students. It makes it more real to them.”
In the coming weeks, eighth-graders will begin making course selections for the next school year. Before the field trip to the high school this week, they’ve already received an introduction to what’s possible in the CTE courses; there are 15 modules available in the McMichael CTE classroom that students work with while still in middle school.
“We want students – and their parents – to understand what’s possible and what’s available before they reach high school,” said Lucena.