Connections.EDU April 2011 - Franklin County Schools

Connections.EDU April 2011 Page 9
Career and Technical Education is One of the
State’s Best Kept Secrets
Pictured Left: Christopher Cannady, Franklinton High School Graduate and
Louisburg High School Agriculture Teacher. Pictured Right: Kenny Towne,
Bunn High School Graduate.
WRITTEN BY: Nicole Marshall, FCS
CTE Administrative Assistant
What is Career and Technical Education
(CTE) It’s a legitimate question
since CTE is one of North Carolina’s
best kept secrets. Franklin County
Schools Career and Technical Education
strives to challenge students and
effectively prepare them to live and
work in a highly technological society
as well as train students who wish to
use learned skills in their community.
What does all this mean In a nutshell,
CTE provides opportunities for
students to gain skills, credentials, and
certifications that effectively prepare
them for the transition into working
adults. Whether it’s the student’s
dream to be a nurse, a brick mason, a
business professional, or just about
anything in between, CTE is the first
step to achieving those dreams.
Laureen Jones, CTE director for
Franklin County Schools said, “We
want to offer as many options that we
can so students will have a broad view
of what they can pursue as a career after
high school or college.”
Christopher Cannady, FHS graduate,
Kenny Towne, BHS graduate, and
Catherine Weston, LHS graduate,
know all too well how the CTE options
offered in high school can help guide
and prepare them for successful careers.
Currently the Agriculture teacher
at Louisburg High School, Cannady is
a seasoned CTE veteran. Graduating
from Franklinton High School, Chris
took instruction from Tommy Kemp
and became well versed in agriculture
even before he continued on to North
Carolina State University as a teaching
fellow to earn a degree in Agriculture
Education.
When asked how the courses in
high school impacted his decision to
pursue agriculture as a career, Cannady
said, “I wanted to learn about
the things that my grandpa and dad
knew how to do. I looked up to them
and while they taught me a lot I still
wanted more. “They knew how to
make things with their hands, make
household repairs themselves, and
grow food that our family could eat.
I wanted to posses the skills to make
myself an independent citizen.”
It’s safe to say that Cannady has
succeeded in his wishes and now he
is passing on his skills and knowledge
to the next generation. Career and
Technical Education allowed Cannady
to get a jump start on his career by
solidifying his decision to pursue agriculture
as a profession.
Kenny Towne has always been
interested in automobiles and it’s a
good thing, seeing that the majority
of his adult life has been spent under
the hood of a car. A graduate of
Bunn High School, Towne knew that
he wanted to pursue a career in the
automobile industry which led him to
enroll at Vance-Granville Community
College in the Automotive Systems
Technology program. Although he
knew in high school that he wanted to
be a mechanic, Kenny also knew that
he needed to keep the doors of opportunity
open, which prompted him
to enroll in classes such as carpentry,
horticulture, and welding to expand
his knowledge base just in case the
automotive industry didn’t work out
for him.
“Keep your options open; the
broader the knowledge you have
coming out of high school means better
chances at getting a job in any of
those fields,” states Towne.
This is the great thing about CTE;
it allows students to explore different
career options without being tied to
them or having spent countless dollars
in college, only to figure out that
it’s just not for them.
It turns out that autos were for him
after all. After earning his Automotive
Systems Technology degree, Towne
worked as a mechanic for seven years
and for the past nine he has served as
a service manager, currently for Leith
Buick GMC of Wendell.
From early on in Catherine
Weston’s life she has been exposed to
childcare. Her mother, Valerie Weston,
operated a licensed home daycare
center and went on to own and direct
ABC Adventures Preschool and Childcare.
Weston was exposed to young
children all her life and it didn’t take