Career Technical Education (CTE) Program at Ohio Virtual Academy
Ohio Virtual Academy's CTE Program teaches career skills students need to be successful after high school. In addition to core courses required for graduation, students' electives allow them to explore different career fields and gain skills that can help them be successful in the workplace and in college. Whether students intend to go to college, are working in their career field now, or plan to start their career right out of high school, the occupational programs offered can combine passion and interests with the skills needed to compete for jobs in high-demand fields.
Career TEchnical Program Offerings
For the 23-24 School year, OHVA’s CTE Program offers ten programs through Career Technical Education in six career clusters:
Information Technology Career Cluster
o Interactive Media Program
o Programming and Software Development Program
o Network Systems Program
Business Career Cluster
o Logistics and Supply Chain Management Program
Finance Career Cluster
o Finance Program
Science, Technology, Engineering & Math Career Cluster
o Engineering & Design
Health Sciences Career Cluster
o Health Information Management
o Allied Health (Medical Assisting or STNA Program
Agriculture Career Cluster
o Natural Resource Management Program
Education Career Cluster
o Early Childhood Education Program
Benefits of being a CTE Student
•Work-based learning: A range of additional Work-based learning opportunities are available throughout the completion of the program, including work placements, mentorships, job shadowing, field trips, industry speakers, professional skill sessions, workplace simulations, and more.
•Membership in a Career-Technical Student Organization (CTSO):: student organizations with chapters at Ohio Virtual Academy. This is a place for our CTE Pathway students to learn more about their fields and interact on a state and national level. OHVA currently has Business Professionals of America, SkillsUSA, FFA, FCCLA, and HOSA.
•College credit opportunities: Students have the possibility of transferring technical credits to Ohio's public colleges and universities after successfully completing their program at Ohio Virtual Academy. This transfer takes place with something called a CTAG. CTAG stands for Career Technical Assurance Guide, and it is the ticket to earning college credit by successfully taking an approved CTE program in high school at OHVA. Each program has at least one CTAG course.
•Industry credentials: Each program has industry credential opportunities built into the curriculum. Paired with passing additional credential tests, this is one option to graduation.
Career Center Guidelines for Students Participating in External CTE Programs
If OHVA does not offer a CTE program in which a student is interested, an additional option is to pursue CTE through an external Career Center while still being enrolled at OHVA. It is imperative that students work closely with their counselors both at OHVA and the Career Center to ensure they are meeting all graduation requirements.
Students must follow all rules and guidelines required by the Career Tech Center and by Ohio Virtual Academy. All paperwork required for admission to a CTC is the responsibility of the student. Students must provide ample time for counselors and administrators to sign necessary paperwork (like attendance forms) for CTC programs. This is not the responsibility of OHVA.
Eligibility requirements:
Students must have a 60% minimum passing score at OHVA. OHVA will abide by that when it comes to determining the issuance of credit.
Students may participate in CTC programs if they have not passed one or more sections of the Ohio State Tests. However, in order to remain in the CTC program, students must fully participate in and complete test preparation assignments.
If student is failing one or more course at their CTC or at OHVA, they may be required to attend OHVA full time to ensure graduation status.
Students’ percent of time attended is expected to be at least 50% at OHVA and 50% at the outside CTC program regarding courses taken.
The CTC creates its own process for selection/admission. Ohio Virtual Academy will support recommendations a CTC makes for admission to their specific program(s).
If a student is suspended or expelled from the CTC, OHVA administration will review the terms of the suspension/expulsion and make a decision. Students may be suspended or expelled from OHVA, as well, based on the findings.
OHVA’s CTE Program Expectations of Class Attendance, Coursework Completion, and CTSO Participation:
The vision of the CTE Program at OHVA is to give hope by empowering students to be engaged, responsible, productive members of the community, providing them with the experience, readiness, and resources to remove barriers, close the skills gap, and make a positive impact in society. Two of the most important components of this vision are engagement and responsibility. To that end, each student that chooses to apply, and is accepted, to a CTE pathway at OHVA must adhere to certain expectations that are stated below.
OHVA CTE Program Pathway Expectations Students are expected to:
Commit to participating for the duration of the pathway (four-year long courses; no dropping mid-year)
Attend ALL ClassConnect Sessions for their pathway courses
Complete coursework for the pathway courses by the due date
Take the WebXam pretest for each pathway course at the beginning of the year and the WebXam posttest for each pathway course at the end of the year
Maintain passing grades in all pathway courses
Participate in the Career Technical Student Organization for their program
Participate in Work-based learning activities that are tied to an approved learning agreement and recorded in the supported tracking platform (accumulation of a minimum of 250 hours is expected during program completion).
Prepare for and take at least one-point value Industry Recognized Credential test within their program
Create a resume (reviewed by someone within the Career Learning Program and revised as necessary)
Obtain two letters of recommendation
Create a Tallo profile to store documentation from CTE achievements (WBL, CTSO, IRC, Resume, Letters of Recommendation)
Participate in quarterly conferences with school counselor
Complete graduation/career plan and update annually
The CTE Program Administration reserve the right to remove a student from the program for failure to meet the CTE Program requirements set forth by OHVA. These may include, but are not limited to:
Failure to attend more than three ClassConnect Sessions in a semester for pathway courses, without notifying the teacher of the absence PRIOR to the class, and watching the recording promptly after the absence
Failure to complete coursework by the due date three times in a semester, without notifying the teacher that the work will be late PRIOR to the scheduled due date
Failure to take a WebXam pre or posttest
Attending less than 75% of virtual CTSO meetings
Failure to have an approved learning agreement plan in place by the end of year one in a program
Failure to attempt at least one Industry Recognized Credential test
Student Behavior
It is expected that the behavior of students during work-based learning opportunities will always be appropriate and professional. Students must recognize that having the opportunity to participate in experiences at community locations is a privilege afforded students engaged in OHVA’s CTE Program. This privilege has certain responsibilities. Students participating in any work-based learning experience that is facilitated through OHVA’s CTE Program have the following responsibilities:
Act professionally at all times (language, tone, actions, attire).
Be at assigned location during the designated times.
Call appropriate supervisor/teacher/administrator if absent.
Follow all rules of OHVA while interacting in the community, recognizing your behavior is a direct reflection of the CTE Program and OHVA.
Realize that a violation of any of the above will result in them no longer being able to participate in school facilitated off-site experiences.
*If a student wishes to continue with a CTE Program after a violation of any of the above criteria, the student will meet with the CTE administration and be placed on a behavior contract. The parent will be notified of this decision.
*Violation of the behavior contract will result in the student being removed from the CTE Program
Program Retention Criteria Policy
It is a privilege for a student to be accepted into OHVA’s CTE Program.
It is the student’s responsibility to maintain good standing in the CTE Program. The criteria required in order to remain in OHVA’s CTE Program include:
•Meeting all pathway expectations listed above
•Passage of sophomore/junior/senior level CTE program classes
•Placement on and completion of an “Action Plan” if at risk of failing CTE program classes
•On target to graduate with passage of core subjects
•Appropriate attitude/behavior during classes and/or fieldtrips/internships/job shadowing
*If a student violates any of the above criteria and wishes to continue with a CTE Program, the student will meet with a CTE administrator to discuss the requirements of a behavior contract to address the area of concern and determine requirements for remaining in the CTE Program. The student’s parent, if not involved in the discussion with the CTE administrator, will be immediately notified of this decision.
For more information on OHVA’s CTE Program, and to view the full CTE Program Policy, go to our CTE Program web site or contact your counselor.