Students Experience Career & Technical Education Through Summer EXPLORE Workshops

HSSD elementary and middle school students had the unique opportunity to learn about Career & Technical Education careers through a variety of hands-on workshops this summer. The CTE EXPLORE workshops provided students with an opportunity to learn and explore a variety of career pathways, while aligning with the district’s Academic and Career Planning initiative to ensure that all students have opportunities to explore a variety of careers and learning experiences.

In an effort to reduce the commitment of a full summer school course, these two-hour workshops provided a quick look into careers, while focusing on hands-on skills that appealed to elementary and middle school students. 

HSSD teachers were invited to teach an exploratory workshop, as were local businesses within the Howard-Suamico community. Savoye Salon and Kimps Ace Hardware partnered with HSSD to provide these learning opportunities to students. Michell Bartlein, owner of Savoye Salon, had great success with her TikTok-Style Braids and Waves course. Students learned from demonstrations and practiced styling tactics on mannequins, fellow students, and themselves. Michell believes strongly in giving back to the school by sharing her time and talents. “These workshops really feed their hunger to learn about what they can do for a career,” said Michell. “Any chance we can get to partner with the school and our students to learn about careers now is a huge win.”

The following workshops were offered to students: Cupcake Decorating and Designs, TikTok-Style Braids and Waves with Savoye Salon, Engineering Problem Solving, Rockets, Virtual Robots, Drones, Herb Garden Designs with Kimps Ace Hardware, Horse Care, and How to Start a Lemonade Stand. More than 330 HSSD students registered for this enhanced summer learning experience.

When asked about the value of the CTE EXPLORE workshop experience, sixth grader Ellie Friendshuh said, “It gave me the experience to learn about future career options. It’s good to have the opportunity and the experience now.” Fifth grader Evelyn Gossen stated, “It’s helpful to have an idea of what you want to do later in life, otherwise things will be difficult to try.”