Our Story
A Snap Shot of 2023-2024
Over the last decade, our Career Technical Education department has seen a renaissance. As our pathways have cemented their focus, this has allowed us to tighten and strengthen our industry sequences. We have grown the number of courses we offer, grown the number of students taking the courses and continue to grow the number of students completing the sequences. .
After a state CTE audit in December 2018, our CTE sequence visions were set in motion. After going through HVAC construction, many teachers moved into new rooms,. As the dust has settled over years of transitions, Covid and sequence realignments, we are now setup for the future.
At the same time, we experimented with our common assessments as we tried to create ways we could better assess students career readiness across industry sectors. These modules and assessments were then evaluated by students the summer of 2021. The changes were implemented into our Canvas course and went through a two year, test and adjust period. The summer of 2023, grade level teachers met and finalized a Road Map that would be shared with all teachers at Lakewood. This Road Map is what the CTE team will use to guide our actions moving forward.
Many of our established goals have been met:
establishing industry certification opportunities
Happening in ATM and HOSM with OSHA training
Creating onsite opportunities
First Career Day in occurred on 1/30/23, next will happen on 1/29/24
Career Center visits for each grade level occurred in 2023, to expand in 2024
CTE ambassador leadership program
Occurred summer of 2021
Goals over the next 3 years include: ALL CTE students presenting portfolios, expanding dual enrollment with LBCC, growing our industry partners, building more student leadership and increasing WBL opportunities.
2023/24:
The summer before school began, we created a road map to share with all teachers that outlines the 4-year career readiness sequence the CTE team follows
We started the year receiving 38 VR goggles to be used across all CTE sequences
Odyssey rolled out their new pathway courses
Conversation Biology replaced Biology of Aquaculture (10th grade)
Environmental Marine Science replaced Marine Biology (11th grade)
Chris Thyden joins the CTE team to teach this course
DMAC changed course and scheduled all their 9th graders into a CTE class (57 Photo/Video, 57 Graphic Design 1-2, 27 Intro to Theatre)
Course matrix changed again in December (district imitative to create consistency)
Photo Video 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Graphic Design 1-2, 3-4, 5-6
Theatre strand has been eliminated
Digital Media will remain an encouraged elective in 12th grade
2022/23:
First and foremost, we sadly lost one of our HOSM teachers (Josh Freeman). He was out on medical, and his long-term sub Brittany Levenson took over his position.
Odyssey officially switched industry sectors. They are now in the Energy, Environment and Utilities Sector - Environmental Resources Pathway
We held our first Career Day: CLICK HERE for more info about the schoolwide event.
CTE is now visiting the career center each quarter (one grade level per quarter).
Christina Dockstader joined the CTE team replacing Samantha Lurie as the Theatre teacher.
We planned for new furniture coming the summer of 2024
2021/22:
We rolled out a Canvas course to all students that will house CTE career readiness, common assessments, career center news, etc.
2020/21:
This was a year of survival. Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, it was status quo.
The year was virtual from the first day until the end of April. There was approximately 6 weeks of on-campus teaching. Even that only saw an average of 5 students.
ATM officially switched the order of the junior/senior courses.
The new junior course Physics Through Robotics and Programming embedded the pathway's physics class and allowed for the opportunity for students to take AP physics in 12th grade.
Amanda White joined the CTE team replacing Allen Glover as the robotics teacher.
DMAC said good-bye to their long time Film teacher - Paul Copeland. Annabellee Espinosa McBride will be taking over his courses.
Due to a lower number of DMAC CTE students, Paul's position will not be filled at this time and move forward with only 3 Media teachers.
Odyssey began the process of moving industry sectors. They will be leaving Agriculture and Natural Resources (Animal Science) and moving into Energy, Environment, and Utilities (Environmental Resources). They will maintain the Biology of Aquaculture course and rewrite a current Marine Biology course to CTE.
2019/20:
We introduced changes to our DMAC sequences to better capture student interest (see chart above)
This change eliminated intro to DMAC, and due to scheduling . . . moved students from the double-blocked Advanced Media Production course to Digital Media
We dropped Odyssey's Ocean Enterprises through Computer Apps due to credentialing and pathway alignment.
But we did add Digital Literacy for College and Career Readiness as its replacement (this is a non CTE, universal computer elective course)
We introduced Pet Care and Animal Welfare to Odyssey, and due to scheduling . . . this moved students from the double-blocked Management of Aquatic Life and Animals
We worked to flip Product Design and Robotics in ATM as we feel Product Design is a better capstone opportunity. The Robotics course was rewritten and approved as an 11th grade Physics through Robotics "D" credit course. Product Design will have it's rewrite completed in the fall as it becomes the capstone course in 2021-2022.
We hired Mike Wadley to the HOSM team, as the pathway demand continues to be high.
We said good-bye to Allen Glover our ATM Robotics teacher.
Covid hit in March, and we remained home until the end of the year.
2018/19:
Introduced Healthcare Analysis into HOSM to replace Applied Medical Terminology. This change was to better align content, provide an additional High School math course option, and to move the CTE medical course from 10th to 11th grade so that students were more prepared for the content.
Introduced Exercise Science as an additional capstone course for HOSM replacing the Emergency Medical Responder course. The EMR course was not in the proper industry pathway and out of our teachers' credentials. Now HOSM has a fork of Exercise Science or Sports Medicine in the senior year. This was also necessary due to staffing, our Sports Medicine teacher's schedule was full, and we needed an additional way to have seniors complete the sequence.
Introduced Biology of Aquaculture into Odyssey to align with the Management of Aquatic Life and Animals. This completes their two-year sequence and allows us to remove the Ocean Enterprises Through Computer Applications that never really aligned properly within the sequence. (This change will take effect 2019-2020)
Pet Care and Animal Welfare course being written to add to Odyssey's sequence as an alternative to the 10 unit Management of Aquatic Life course.
Product Design being updated for new VAPA standards and to align better to ATM initiatives (i.e. Esports, and programming emphasis)
Work was done to clean up DMAC's digital sequence. The prior sequence started with a generic 9th grade course that was redundant, and the sequence lacked cohesiveness. Now 9th graders choosing the digital strand will elect either video or graphic design. The process of change was done for next year implementation.
Video: Contemporary Video, Advanced Contemporary Video, Digital Photography, Advanced Media Production (10) OR Digital Media (5) (newly adopted)
Graphic Design: Graphic Design 1-2, Graphic Design 3-4, Digital Photography, Advanced Media Production (10) OR Digital Media (5) (newly adopted)
DMAC's drama sequence was also cleaned up. The sequence was shortened to 3-years due to low enrollment/completers. A 4th course can still be taken from VAPA.
Introduction to Theatre, Intermediate Theatre, Advanced Theatre
2017/18:
Introduced Ocean Enterprises Through Computer Applications into Odyssey (this was a rewrite of the former Computer Applications course)
Introduced Management of Aquatic Life and Animals into Odyssey as it embraced a CTE industry for the first time. (10 unit capstone)
Introduced Using Information Technology into ATM, this new 9th grade course will properly introduce students to the newly created ATM courses as it replaces Communication Media (the former 9th grade course).
Introduced Mechanical and Robotic Programming (D). This course is ATM's capstone.
Introduced Advanced Media Production. This is a 10 unit per semester work-based learning capstone course for DMAC.
Introduced AP Computer Science A
2016/17:
Introduced Exploring Computer Science as ATM's 10th grade tech core class (high school math credit). This aligns with ATM's shift in focus from traditional engineering to Informatics/Computer Science.
Introduced Product Design as ATM's 11th grade tech core class and fine art (F)
Introduced AP Computer Science Principles
Both courses: Principles of Information Technology and Finance (NAF) and Ethics in Business and Entrepreneurship (NAF) are removed due to the collapsing of the TCB (business) pathway. The pathway ended due to low interest. These students were dispersed to other pathways which will throw off completion numbers.
2015/16:
Autoshop removed from course offering as the district shifts from general electives to pathway specific offerings. We were not offering a pathway that supported this.
Digital Electronics removed from ATM's course of study as they move to write their own curriculum instead of adopting Project Lead the Way