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Associated Press
12 hours ago
- Business
- Associated Press
St. Peter Catholic Career and Technical High School Seeks Community Support to Empower Future Graduates
07/01/2025, Houston, Texas // PRODIGY: Feature Story // St. Peter Catholic Career and Technical High School, a beacon of opportunity for underserved youth in Houston, is seeking ongoing community support to sustain and expand its mission of preparing students not only for graduation but for life. The school opened its doors to students in 2023 with a vision rooted in both academic excellence and practical career training. Today, St. Peter Catholic serves students in grades 9 and 10, with plans to expand through grade 12 by 2026. The first graduating class is expected in May 2027, a milestone the school is determined to reach with the help of continued support from the broader community. 'The overwhelming majority of our students receive financial assistance for their tuition,' said Dr. Marc Martinez, principal of the school. 'These are young people from underserved communities. Many are the first in their families to attend high school or aspire to higher education. What we offer them is a path forward through education, mentorship, and hands-on career preparation.' St. Peter Catholic focuses on four key career pathways: business, construction, education, and information technology. Courses in business and education are offered in-house, while the construction and IT tracks will be delivered through a partnership with a local community college beginning this coming academic year. This strategic mix provides students with the option to enter the workforce or pursue college, or both, based on what is best for their families and futures. 'Not every student has the luxury of going straight to college,' Dr. Martinez explained. 'Some need to support their families right away or save up for higher education on their own. We want to give our students real options, and that starts with real skills.' The school's small size fosters a tight-knit community and offers students the individualized attention they often don't receive in larger public settings. Located on the east side of Houston, the school draws students from a broad area but remains firmly rooted in its values and mission. The emphasis is on relationship-building, both in the classroom and beyond. 'We are creating a space where students are seen, heard, and supported,' said Dr. Martinez. 'And we can't do that alone.' To meet the growing needs of its student population and complete its expansion to serve all high school grade levels, St. Peter Catholic Career and Technical High School is appealing to community members, businesses, and philanthropic partners for ongoing support. This includes, but is not limited to, financial support to help cover tuition assistance, program development, and operational costs. 'We are incredibly grateful for the support we have already received,' Dr. Martinez added. 'But we still have a long way to go. Continued support of any kind makes a direct impact on the lives of our students.' Media Contact Name: Tim Scalzitti Email: [email protected] Source published by Submit Press Release >> St. Peter Catholic Career and Technical High School Seeks Community Support to Empower Future Graduates
CBS News
2 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
This Sacramento County school district revives career training programs for students
More than 400,000 California students graduate from high school each year, and 62% will go on to college. Over the decades, many schools have phased out classes like auto shop and home economics in favor of college prep courses. But one local district is bringing back career training classes so students can get jobs without getting a four-year degree. Today's high school students in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District are learning a lot more than just the 3Rs. "The idea is that our students are not only ready for college, they're ready for careers," said Shanan Spears with the district. They're learning everything from hospitality positions like catering and being a chef to construction and manufacturing jobs like metal welding and woodworking. "It's going to help me in the long run, with not only securing a job, but if I'm at home and something breaks, I'm going to have the technical know-how to fix it," said Folsom High senior Dustin Davis. Software design, health care, and sales are some of the other career training that is offered. The district says these types of classes and internships give students skills that can lead to high-paying careers without the time commitment and cost of having to attend a four-year college. "They go to college because they think they're supposed to go to college, and they come out with a degree and they don't know what to do with it," Spears said. "They don't know where to go." School officials say there's a huge need for workers with these types of skills. "We almost don't even have enough students," Spears said. "There is a high demand, and we hope we're filling that gap just a little bit." Whether they go on to college, trade school, or get a job right after graduation, these students are getting professional experience before they even get a diploma. "I know each student has learned so much, including myself, and I'm so grateful to have this opportunity," said Varshini Nagam, a senior at Vista Del Lago High School. Around 26% of students in the Folsom Cordova district participate in these career classes, and the district says much of the funding for this training comes from state grants.
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
What pays $75-90K? This open role at Erie Center for Arts & Technology
The Erie Center for Arts and Technology is looking for a new executive director. The nonprofit, which offers adult career training programs and after-school arts classes at no cost to Erie County residents, announced on both its website and Facebook page that it is seeking "a visionary leader with a passion for transforming lives through creativity, opportunity, and community empowerment." A full job posting/description can be found at ECAT's website, where interested candidates can also submit an application online. ECAT announced via Facebook on June 2 that its most recent executive director, Kate Neubert-Lechner, has "moved on to new opportunities." Neubert-Lechner recently announced on LinkedIn that she is starting a new position as the Erie-based regional manager for Make-A-Wish Greater Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Previous coverage: Building trades program at Erie Center for Arts & Technology gets $1 million boost From Walmart to future nurse: ECAT helps Erie woman begin health-care career According to the ECAT job posting, the position pays between $75,000 and $90,000 annually with benefits. Qualifications for the job include, but are not limited to: A Bachelor's degree in a related field such as non-profit management, business administration, finance and/or accounting. A Master's degree in non-profit management, public administration, or business administration is preferred The ability to secure/pass FBI and state police background checks and state Department of Public Welfare child abuse clearances At least five years of public sector and/or nonprofit experience; executive leadership is preferred Experience in strategic planning, fundraising, and organizational management Demonstrated experience leading an organization through change/growing an organization A hands-on approach to problem solving Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and public speaking/writing skills Experience with budgeting, financial planning, analysis and oversight and an ability to communicate complex financial information to stakeholders Exceptional organizational & time management skills ECAT was created in 2021. Its first executive director was Daria Devlin, the current Erie School Board member and director of social impact at Hamot Health Foundation who won the Democratic nomination for Erie mayor in the May 20 municipal primary. Voting breakdown: How Daria Devlin captured Erie's Democratic mayoral primary Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@ Follow him on X at @ETNflowers This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Why the Erie Center for Arts and Technology is seeking a new director
Associated Press
24-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
What Texas lawmakers did this session to close the state's workforce gaps
Workforce training played the quiet middle child during this year's regular legislative session. While louder, more polarizing issues took the spotlight, Texas lawmakers also passed landmark bills that will reshape how students prepare for life after high school. The session opened with unexpected attention on workforce training when Gov. Greg Abbott made it an emergency item, signaling his desire for lawmakers to treat the issue with urgency at the highest level. Texas employers have been sounding an alarm: They can't find skilled workers to do middle-skill jobs like welding and plumbing. The shortage threatens to slow the state's economy, a point of pride for state leaders. The health care and teacher workforces have also been struggling with persistent vacancies. Expanded career training would help the state meet its goal to get 60% of working-age Texans a postsecondary degree or credential by 2030, which Texas leaders set to fill critical workforce gaps. The workforce legislation that reached the governor's desk this session opened new pathways for high school students to access career training and laid the groundwork to build a homegrown nuclear energy workforce. The state's technical colleges could also see a long-awaited boost to expand their footprint. High school students will have access to more career support Under House Bill 20, high school students will soon be able to swap a core academic class — including graduation credit requirements — for a college-level career and technical education course. They'd have to pass end-of-year assessments for courses they've taken previously in that subject before making a swap. Half of Texas students do not enroll in college right after high school, data shows. Rep. Gary Gates, the Richmond Republican who authored the bill, said he wants students who are not interested in college to set off on a path to well-paying jobs earlier. He intends for HB 20 to facilitate more partnerships between high schools and Texas Technical College. Gates told The Texas Tribune he has tried to pass this bill before. Some critics vocalized their concerns again this session that students who swap out classes will miss out on foundational academic knowledge. Ultimately, the bill passed with near-unanimous support from legislators. Gates believed that Abbott's designation of career training as an emergency item gave the bill extra momentum this session. 'It's one thing to fight me when I'm down here in the cellar,' Gates told the Tribune earlier this session. 'But when it became a little bit more higher profile of a bill, they didn't fight back.' Students who want to enter the workforce right away will see bolstered career advising. Two pieces of legislation — House Bill 120 and House Bill 2, the Legislature's $8.5 billion public education funding package — expanded state subsidies for career readiness assessments and explicitly directed school counselors to advise students on career training. HB 120 also zeroes in on helping students get ready for military service, which the state sees as one of its markers of student success but is often an overlooked career pathway. Student participation in Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, a high school military training program, will now count toward the state's career training requirements for school districts. On top of that, HB 120 triples school districts' funding — from $50 to $150 — for every student enrolled in a P-TECH, a school where students work toward getting their high school diploma, an associate's degree and a workforce credential. An early version of the bill proposed a big investment in college and career advising but that provision did not make it across the finish line. Two-year colleges get a boost The two-year-old colleges Texas depends on to get young people ready for the workforce came out of the session with funding wins. Texans at the November polls will vote on creating an endowment for Texas State Technical College after legislators passed Senate Joint Resolution 59. Unlike other two-year colleges, Texas State Technical College does not have the authority to raise bonds, and underfunding has led to a halt in critical capital improvements. If voters approve the constitutional amendment, TSTC officials say they will use the money to fix campus infrastructure, upgrade classroom equipment and expand its footprint across the state. In 2023, a similar piece of legislation made it through the Legislature, but was among the slew of vetoes Abbott made to signal his disappointment on property tax negotiations. The funding boost for technical colleges almost got caught in political crosshairs again this year when House Democrats threatened to shoot down all constitutional amendments over school vouchers. The Legislature also revisited the funding formula for community colleges, which they overhauled in 2023 to move away from enrollment as a measure of success and instead incentivize student degree and credential completion. This session, they aimed to connect more Texans to higher education. Under Senate Bill 1786, community colleges will receive funds when their students transfer to private universities, not just public ones. This will help schools like McLennan Community College, which has a strong pipeline of students who transfer to Baylor University next door. SB 1786 also narrows the definition of a 'credential of value,' tying it more closely to wage-related returns on investment for students and to labor market needs. In addition, the bill expands the FAST grant, which waives the cost of dual credit courses for low-income students. High school students who qualify for free and reduced lunch at any time in the school year and students in the Windham School District, the high school education system in Texas prisons, will now qualify for the grant. Finally, the bill calls for stronger coordination between the Texas Workforce Commission, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Education Agency when giving out career and technical education grants. Growing apprenticeship programs and Texas' nuclear industry Political momentum behind apprenticeships has been growing. The earn-while-you-learn model is seen as a win-win: Young people can start making money right away instead of waiting to complete their degree, and workforce leaders get to fill vacancies and reverse their critical Texas-sized shortages. In 2019, the Legislature seized that momentum, establishing an apprenticeship grant to incentivize employers to grow and create work-based learning programs. But program growth stagnated because of a mismatch in state law and federal policy. The 2019 law required apprenticeship programs to get approval from the U.S. Department of Labor. Meanwhile, the federal agency ceased action on this type of program in recent years. TWC's hands were effectively tied and couldn't take advantage of the grant. House Bill 3260 modifies state law to allow TWC to grow the program without dependence on the U.S. Department of Labor. Texas lawmakers are also developing the worker pipeline for an emerging energy sector. As hopes build for Texas to lead the way in advanced nuclear energy, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, zeroed in on training young people around the state to carry out nuclear-grade welding and radiological monitoring. Senate Bill 1535 directs the Texas Workforce Commission to create an advanced nuclear workforce development program. The workforce agency would determine curriculum requirements for degree programs that would meet industry needs. ___ This story was originally published by The Texas Tribune and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
CBS News
05-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Thousands of students in limbo as Trump administration seeks to shut down Job Corps centers
Emily Scott is a Job Corps student in Los Angeles who is also a caretaker for her disabled mother. She is four months away from graduating from the Job Corps program as a licensed nurse. Andrea Watts of Las Vegas was homeless before finding her way to a Job Corps center in L.A. for an opportunity to obtain her high school diploma and eventually become a pharmacy technician. Both are students who are undergoing training at Job Corps, but whose careers are in limbo as the centers were abruptly shut down last week. On May 29, the Labor Department announced a "phased pause" in operations at 99 contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide. These are federally-funded centers that offer career training, housing and career assistance to more than 25,000 young people ages 16 to 24. The Labor Department program was funded by Congress in 1964 and has generally received bipartisan support. However, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a news release that the program was "no longer achieving the intended outcomes that students deserve" as evidenced by "a startling number of serious incident reports and our in-depth fiscal analysis." U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on May 22, 2025. Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images On Wednesday, U.S District Judge Andrew Carter in Manhattan temporarily blocked the Trump administration from eliminating the Job Corps program while the case plays out. The temporary restraining order was issued after Job Corps contractors sued the Trump administration Tuesday arguing the Labor Department violated federal law by shutting down the Job Corps centers, arguing the White House does not have the power to dismantle a program established and funded by Congress. A hearing is set for June 17. CBS News has reached out to the Labor Department and Job Corps for comment on the ruling. Job Corps officials told CBS News that even before the Labor Department paused operations last week, it had halted their ability to conduct background checks, effectively freezing the enrollment process. Though it was initially communicated as a pause, staff had been given dates for their last date of employment, they said. Prior to Carter's ruling, a stop in operations at all contractor-operated Job Corps centers was slated to occur by June 30. A transparency report released in April by the Labor Department found that the average graduation rate for the program was under 40%. The yearly average cost per student was $80,000 and there were over 14,000 serious incident infractions, including inappropriate sexual behavior, sexual assaults and reported drug use. The decision to pause operations aligned with President Trump's 2026 budget proposal, according to the Labor Department, and the administration's commitment to "ensure federal workforce investments deliver meaningful results for both students and taxpayers," the agency said last week when it announced the pause. According to Michelle Matthews, who helps lead the L.A. Job Corps centers, the Labor Department's findings were "unbelievable" given that students are under strict rules and are drug tested in order to qualify. "All of the numbers presented were inflated, deflated lies and their intent was clear from the start," said Matthews, adding that news of the centers' closure was communicated to students last Friday. "That was a day I will never forget," Matthews told CBS News in tears. "To see what they were going through and to know that the impact was going to be devastating." Students were required to abandon their dorms, but more than 50 students in the L.A. centers had nowhere to go. Matthews says she is part of the staff still working around the clock to find them housing. It was not immediately clear whether Wednesday's ruling will allow it to immediately reopen to students. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have denounced the Trump administration's move to suspend Job Corps operations, a move they say is illegal. "We funded the program through fiscal year 2025 and they are cutting these slots and shutting things down that Congress has already funded," said Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California in a phone interview with CBS News. "The money is already there, so they should use it to help these kids finish out their degrees and certifications and then we can have a debate on what the future of Job Corps looks like." Gomez added that he has personally witnessed the success of the program as his two siblings are Job Corps graduates. "The kids are in the pipeline, don't take this away from them because they don't have many opportunities as it is," Gomez said. In May, Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to Chavez-DeRemer requesting information on Job Corps contracts, background check processing and evaluation plans. "I strongly oppose the Department of Labor's directive to pause operations at Job Corps centers in Maine and across the country," Collins said in a statement. "Serving nearly 500 students in Maine, the Loring Job Corps Center and the Penobscot Job Corps Center have become important pillars of support for some of our most disadvantaged young adults." Scott, who has autism, was forced to drop out of college at the age of 19 to care for her disabled mother. "I watched my whole life get put on pause and our circumstances never improved," Scott said. The nursing student says she's unable to pay for her training on her own if Job Corps is effectively shut down. "My future, I don't see it, I don't see anything being different than how I started," Scott said. For Watts, leaving Job Corps would mean returning to Las Vegas — where she doesn't have a home — without achieving her initial hopes of becoming a pharmacy technician. "I wanted to set an example for my future self, and I enrolled into Job Corps thinking that I would come out with a career, with my high school diploma," Watts said. "But that was all just taken from me in a short amount of time."
