BCTHS Article

From the BCCT.

Turning kids on to a career path
The tech school offers almost 30 summer exploration courses for seventh- and eighth-graders who live in its sending districts.
By JOAN HELLYER

Students participating in a skateboard construction project at Bucks County Technical High School this summer will not only emerge with a new way to get around, they’re also getting a jumpstart on making a career choice, school officials said. “They’re learning without knowing it,” said Kevin Ody, who oversees the tech school’s threeweek summer program.

Almost 30 summer courses are being offered by the comprehensive technical high school that serves the Bensalem, Bristol, Bristol Township, Morrisville, Neshaminy and Pennsbury school districts. The course offerings include culinary, forensic science, robotics, cosmetology, money management, plumbing, automotive, commercial art and computers.

Seventh- and eighthgraders from the sending districts are invited to participate in the classes to learn more about the career and trades training available at the school on Wistar Road in Bristol Township. David Ayres, a teacher’s assistant, said he knew doing something with skateboards would provide a good way to connect with the students. “I want them to open their minds to know they can do whatever they want to do. That’s what a tech school is all about,” said Ayres, a 2005 BCTHS grad. He precut seven layers of wood in the form of a skateboard for the 13 students in the class and then showed the kids how he did it.

The students spent last week gluing and sealing each layer together and sanding the board once all the layers were in place, Ayres said. This week they’ll paint the skateboards and attach wheels to the bottoms. In the process, the kids are getting a feel for various construction procedures.

“It makes me feel very accomplished,” said Angelica Mena, 13, an eighth-grader at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Bristol Township.

The kids said participating in the program has given them the chance to consider their options. Most said they would like to attend the school, where students are accepted based on a variety of criteria.

“I think it will be good for my career,” said Michael Arthur, 12, a seventh-grader at Pennsbury’s William Penn Middle School.

Many studies suggest that, too, according to the Association for Career and Technical Education.

The studies show that technical education graduates are 10 percent to 15 percent more likely to be in the labor force than are their peers from traditional high schools who don’t go on to college, according to ACTE. In addition, the tech graduates earn 8 percent to 9 percent more than academic program graduates, according to the association dedicated to providing students with the education needed to have successful careers.

BCTHS, one of 14 comprehensive technical high schools in the state, does not keep track of how many summer exploration students ultimately end up at the tech school, Ody said.

However, he knows quite a few have over the years, including 2008 graduate Brian Knecht, who recently won a silver medal in the welding division of the national SkillsUSA competition.

“Some of our best students are those who participate in the summer program. It turns them on [to a career path],” the administrator said.