The Calhoun Tech Prep Advanced Technologies Consortium is administered by the Calhoun Technologies and Workforce Development Division and is one of hundreds of Tech Prep partnerships across the United States. Members of the Consortium include: Calhoun Community College, Athens City Schools, Decatur City Schools, Hartselle City Schools, Limestone County Schools, Madison County Schools and Morgan County Schools. The program was established in 1990 and seeks to provide career/technical students with a seamless transition between high school, college and career. Tech Prep allows students to receive postsecondary credit for technical competencies mastered in high school and gives them access to hands-on experience in the career of their choice through apprenticeships, cooperative education and other on-the-job training experiences. Articulation, the mechanism that allows students to receive college credit for technical skills mastered in high school, is the cornerstone of Calhoun Tech Prep. Other activities include CHOICES, the High Tech Symposium series, and the annual Career and Workforce Expo.
For more information and helpful links to resources for parents/students/schools, visit the Workforce Development page.
Tech Prep Programs
Alabama has developed five very broad career groupings. These groups include the entire spectrum of career options and include the national career clusters. The five Alabama Career Clusters are:
- Agriscience
- Business and Marketing
- Family and Human Services
- Health Sciences
- Technical
Articulation
Articulation is a key element of the Tech Prep program. Articulation creates a smooth transition for Tech Prep students between the secondary and postsecondary levels by awarding college credit for career/technical courses taken in high school. The process involves bringing together faculty members, business and industry representatives, and others to discuss what is and what should be taught at each level. This examination of course materials is needed to assess how content matches up and whether adjustments are needed at either level. The Calhoun Advanced Technologies Consortium accomplishes this with bi-annual articulation meetings between secondary and post secondary instructors. Currently, Calhoun Community College has 112 articulation agreements with 16 schools in North Alabama.
CHOICES
Each year the Calhoun Advanced Technologies Consortium presents CHOICES to all eighth grade students within the consortium. CHOICES is an interactive classroom seminar that gives middle and high school students a chance to see into the future and recognize the importance of the personal and academic decisions they make today. The success of the CHOICES program is built on classroom volunteers from all walks of business, industry and the community who volunteer to spend time in classrooms in our area presenting the program and helping the students of today, and workforce of tomorrow, begin to make good CHOICES in life.
CHOICES presenters are asked to commit to teaching at least one CHOICES class. The commitment includes two 50-minute classroom sessions on consecutive days. Teachers involved provide classroom schedules and Calhoun works with volunteers to find the best fit for their schedules. Calhoun provides the entire curriculum, teaching materials and all classroom supplies; volunteers provide their time, dedication and the benefit of their experience to the young people in these classrooms. CHOICES make a compelling case for the way education - or the lack of it – will eventually affect each student’s options.
Professional Development
Professional Development for counselors is another key element of Tech Prep. Each year the program presents a Business Industry Certification (BIC) seminar for instructors of career/technical programs in service area high schools. Calhoun Tech Prep also supports workshops for counselors, participates in the annual Alabama Career Development Conference and provides funding for Consortium counselors and educators to attend a variety of career/technical professional development conferences and workshops.
High Tech Symposium
The High Tech Symposium program is presented annually by the Calhoun Tech Prep program and consists of at least four (4) one-day seminars presented over the course of the school year. The series offers an opportunity for junior and senior students attending high schools within the Advanced Technologies Consortium to take part in a variety of work-based learning experiences. Each symposium focuses on issues involving the importance of technology in the industrial sector and the importance of career/technical education in preparing to enter the workforce. The program is one of several Calhoun Tech Prep programs designed to keep students involved in career/technical education and prepare them to eventually enter the technology workforce. This year, 35 students from fifteen area high schools took part in the series.
According to Athens High School senior Micah Gregg, a participant in last year’s Symposium series, the program has much to offer. “The High Tech Symposium has provided me the opportunity to see, first-hand, the skill level needed for specific jobs. I have had the opportunity to meet with, learn from and ask questions of a variety of highly skilled people. The technical equipment is awesome.”
Participating industries are equally excited about the program. John Vickers, Manager, NASA National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, commented: “NASA is committed to building connections with students who want to pursue exciting science and technology careers. Partnerships with educational institutions like Calhoun play a key role in educating the workforce of the future that is essential to NASA and the Nation’s Aerospace Industry.”
Symposium events during the 2005-06 school year have included Robotics, facilitated by Calhoun CIS instructor Dr. Sue Mitchell; a combined tour of Wildwood Electronics in Madison and Boeing-Huntsville, and a tour of Doncasters Medical Technologies in Arab. Tours are also planned at Automatic Screw Machine Products and BP-Decatur. Lunch and chartered bus transportation are provided for each Symposium.
Career and Workforce Expo
The Calhoun Community College Tech Prep program presented this year’s CAREER & WORKFORCE EXPO on Tuesday, February 7, 2007, from 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. in the Aerospace Training Center on Calhoun’s Decatur campus.
More than 1,000 students, parents and educators from seven area school systems, private schools and home school programs attended the annual event. The Workforce Expo Committee worked with high schools throughout the Calhoun Tech Prep Consortium to encourage participation by arranging for student tours of the EXPO. Teachers, counselors, and parents were also invited to attend.
Workforce readiness is a need repeatedly identified by employers as vital to their business success. The Career and Workforce Expo offers a unique opportunity for local employers to meet with young people, parents, and teachers and to provide students with information needed to make choices about careers and education allowing them to become workforce ready. In addition to displaying products and providing information about their companies, participating businesses were available to discuss the workforce skills necessary to produce their products and services.
Exhibitors scheduled for this year’s Expo included Arbonne International, Army National Guard, Athens-Limestone Hospital, The Art Institutes, Boeing-Huntsville, Decatur Career Center, Decatur Country Club, Decatur General Hospital, Delphi, Eaton Hydraulics, Enersolv Corporation, Federal-Mogul, First American Bank, International Paper, Key Engineering, Manufacturing Solutions of North Alabama, Mary Kay Cosmetics, North Alabama Center for Educational Excellence, OCI Chemical, Friends of North Alabama Regional Hospital, NOVA Chemicals, NUCOR Steel, Parkway Medical Center, Pro-Air Services, Inc., Raytheon Company-IFPSC, Solutia, SportsMED, TREQ Corporation, 3M, U.S. Army Recruiting, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and Wachovia Bank. Lunch was provided for exhibitors and prepared and served by Athens High School Family and Consumer Science students. Brewer High School Foods and Culinary Arts students prepared snacks for the exhibitor break room.
The Career and Workforce Expo 2006 is presented by the Calhoun Community College Tech Prep Consortium. Sponsors for the event are the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, Morgan County Economic Development Association, Lawrence County Industrial Development Board, Limestone County Economic Development Association, the Madison City Chamber of Commerce, and Pepsi Cola Bottling Company.
