Non-traditional Enrollment - A Trend Worth Sharing at CATEC

Female Masons? Male Nurses? Female Firefighters? Female Automotive Technicians? Male Hairstylists?

Perhaps these would seem to be odd combinations 25 years ago, but this is the 21st century and we need to ensure that opportunities are plentiful for all genders, in all occupations. How do we educate our youth to the wide-range of opportunities that exist in today's careers?- EXPOSURE.

One of our school improvement goals includes a focus on increasing participation in non-traditional enrollment in our classes. This year our non-traditional enrollment is 12.3% compared to 9% in 06/07. This is the highest non-traditional enrollment since we began collecting data in 1999. While this success is exciting, we are continuing to spread the word about opportunities within our programs. At our Career EXPO and Job Fair we had the Weldon Cooper Center and National Association for Women in Construction groups donate free gift certificates and TomBoy Tool kits to students who entered our drawing and toured the various non-traditional programs throughout the mall. Over 25 students toured program areas through this process. One of our female Masonry students, who is currently a junior, was practically guaranteed a job after graduation by the representatives of the NAWIC group, who were there to support the event.

We have seen an increase in interest of teenagers in non-traditional programs including male nursing students and females interested in construction and architecture. These are trends we want to continue and we will look to expand opportunities next year through practical entrepreneurial training for all of our Year II students. Our programs this summer (www.catec.org) include a new 8th-10th grade 2-week camp called GET-IT (Girls Exploring Trades In Today's world.). New Choices, New Programs, New Focus

What ideas do you have? Please let us know.