Choosing a CTE Pathway

Why Should a Student Choose a CTE Pathway?

  • Because 90% of graduates say they wish they had more real world opportunities in high school, and CTE pathways are built around workforce infused project-based learning.
  • Because more than 85% of CTE students are planning to continue their education after high school, and being in a CTE pathway helps students focus their post-secondary plans which means they are more likely to earn a degree.
  • More than 1/3 of CTE students can receive college credit for completing a CTE pathway, which not only helps saves families money, it better prepares high school students for the rigor of college coursework.
  • Because pathway completers are college bound and career ready.

How can parents help a high school student choose a Career Technical Education Pathway?

You may think that high school students are too young to be making a decision about a career, but it is important to remember that your teens can expect to change jobs and careers many times as adults. With that in mind, helping your teens through the process of choosing a career that is a good match will be important in preparing them for that workplace reality. And while your teens may change their minds, the skills that they will learn while in a CTE Pathway, are transferable to other careers later on.

What are the steps in choosing a CTE Pathway?

There are three basic questions that need to be asked in choosing a Career or a Pathway:

  • Who am I?
  • What do I want to do?
  • How do I get there from here?

Sometimes people are lucky and just fall into a career that is a perfect match for them. Others have a hard time getting out of a career that no longer works for them because of finances or where they are in life. Grossmont Union High School District students have an opportunity to “try on” a career by participating in a CTE Pathway. To help your teens pick a CTE Pathway that is a good match, have them log on to Career Cruising and work through the assessment tools that will help them focus on who they are and want they want to do. Then, they can continue to explore what careers are a good match for them and what CTE Pathway will best prepare them for that career. You can check out the other links on this site for more career exploration ideas.

CTE Supports Academics

  • Several CTE classes are articulated with the community colleges allowing students to earn college credit while still in high school, and many CTE classes are approved for UC "a-g" credit. All CTE classes earn elective credit, and some also meet specific subject graduation requirements.
  • Curriculum in CTE classes is aligned with the California Academic and CTE Standards and supports the core academic areas wherever possible.
  • Some CTE students participate yearly in the San Diego County Fair, winning top awards.
  • CTE classes offer applied learning of academics supporting all learning styles.
  • Classrooms labs are furnished with up-to-date equipment and materials.
  • Students completing CTE courses will receive a list of the occupational competencies they have mastered to present to prospective employers.
  • CTE teachers are fully credentialed by the State Department of Education and have business and/or industry experience in the field in which they are teaching.

To enroll your child in a CTE Pathway, speak with your student's high school counselor.

1100 Murray Drive, El Cajon, CA 92020

(619) 644-8097

Office Hours M-F 7:30 am - 4:00 pm

Grossmont Union High School District programs and activities shall be free from discrimination based on gender, sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, marital or parental status, physical or mental disability, sexual orientation or the perception of one or more of such characteristics. (GUHSD Board Policy 0410)