You're Invited!

Join us for our family Open House!!

January 30, 2013 7:00pm-8:30pm

or 

February 5, 2013 7:00pm-8:30pm

Meet in the Media Center at Concord High (West Building, Ground Floor)

Director Steve Rothenberg will explain all aspect of Career and Technical Education, including how we carefully mix classroom, hands-on experiential and extended learning opportunities to engage students. Tour our modern facilities and meet our teachers. Gain an understanding of how students are able to earn high school, and in many cases, college credits while at CRTC. Learn how enrolling in CRTC programs can enhance a student's high school and post graduation plans. For a description of our ten  diverse programs and much more, visit our website:

www.theCRTC.net

New CTE, Old "VOC"

New CTE, old “VOC”

The Concord Regional Technical Center is an Economic Engine

Like the old advertisement that said this is not your father’s Oldsmobile, Career and Technical Education (CTE) is not your father’s or mother’s vocational education. The Concord “Voc” that many of you grew up with does not resemble what you experienced or perceived decades ago. Career and Technical Education is a competitive and robust option for high school students who want to be prepared for college and careers.

The Concord Regional Technical Center (CRTC) as a public career and technical high school, offers a tremendous opportunity for students attending any of the nine regional high schools we serve to become considerably more college and workforce competitive upon graduation.

Far too often I hear adults praising the major benefits of career and technical education for the reason that not every kid can or will go to college -- and thank goodness -- they have something. The truth could not be further from this perception. We service an extremely diverse student body. Almost every one of our students is planning his or her postsecondary future; and it may be argued, our students are considerably more focused on where they are heading when compared non-CTE students.

A student graduating one of our programs has two years of experience under their belt; in addition, in many cases they have earned credits for two or more college classes and have earned industry certificates like an LNA license or an OSHA Safety Card upon completing one of our programs When one of our students applies to a post-secondary institution they can write about their 9 week internship in a local car dealership or their 12+ week internship as a student teacher. Our students also have stories to tell because they’ve trained on some of the newest and best industry equipment and have gained confidence in doing so.

Our students are well ahead of the game. In most cases, they don’t risk wasting money or taking on excessive loans exploring untested post-secondary options, many already know what they want because they’ve had a extensive taste of it already. They have focus and have begun to build a pathway to their future.

A new program slated for next year allows student to earn their Firefighter I certificate as well as college credits at the same time. This exciting program is offered in partnership with the Concord Fire Department. The instructors will be certified fire professionals.

Our students are going to study such post-secondary tracks as: automotive technology, physical therapy, graphic design, programming, welding, elementary education, criminology, cosmetology, and baking to name a few. For example, we are especially proud of a number of our Culinary Arts students who have been accepted and enrolled in Bachelor’s Programs at Culinary Institute of America and New England Culinary Institute, considered to be two of the finest culinary schools in the country.

We believe our students possess a significant head start on post-secondary education when compared to non-CTE student. For example, almost all of our eligible programs offer dual enrollment college courses. In addition, our programs are carefully linked to college classes through written understanding called articulation agreements. Our CRTC students are regularly coached by their instructors on the value of continuing their education. We have frequent college visits and regular conversations about “next year”. Our instructors take great pride in their efforts to connect with every student. It is very personal.

In the 2011 report, “Pathways to Prosperity” published by Harvard University, Career and Technical Education is praised as a very competitive, highly regarded option. The report stresses that aiming to have every student go to college is a worthy goal, but not necessarily of value or realizable to our nation if every student in fact went to and graduated college with a mix of bachelor’s degrees. Often we hear the word college and think four-year degree, but the term ‘college’ extends to 2-year degree and trade certificates. This is a shift in thinking for many of us.

“Pathways to Prosperity” emphasized that we need graduates with college thinking skills, but also with technical skills valuable to the 21st century high-value workplaces. The report references underemployment. Meaning we have jobs that are not filled due to not enough skilled trained workers being available. The report emphasizes expanding our national vision to include a renewed emphasis on technical skills at the secondary and postsecondary level is necessary in order for this country to remain competitive. For many of you in industry including our local partners, this is common sense and not a surprise.

Add it all up and you may conclude, as we have, that this might be the “right” time for career and technical education. We continue to grow and refine our operations, while increasing rigor throughout. The diversity and the quality of our offerings, along with our skilled instructors, is meeting the needs of a very wide span of regional high school students. Come check us out. You will be impressed.

The Concord Regional Technical Center is a public school embedded in Concord High School serving high school students living in the majority of the Capital Region cities and towns including: Allenstown. Andover, Boscawen, Bow, Bradford, Chichester, Concord, Deerfield, Deering, Epsom, Henniker, Hillsboro, Hopkinton, Loudon, Newbury. New London, Pembroke, Penacook (MVHS), Pittsfield, Salisbury, Springfield, Sutton, Warner. Washington, Weare, Webster, Wilmot, and Windsor. Students attend our elective programs as a supplement to their regular high school curriculum and still graduate from their home high school. February is sign up for CTE month.


by Steve Rothenberg, Director

Mac & Cheese Bakeoff!

And the winners are....

Erik Farrar and Katie Lord entered the NH Dairy Council's Mac & Cheese bakeoff on Saturday and took 3rd place in a contest with 30 teams entered, some from local restaurants. Both are students in our Culinary Arts program. Great job!

January Tidbits of Classroom News

Health Science 

Post by: Sharron Bean

The Health Science seniors who are interested in obtaining a Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) certificate are actively engaged in training. The training consists of 126 classroom hours of theory and 60 hours of clinical training. The clinical experience is at Presidential Oaks, which is a familiar place for Health Science students and is a neighbor of CHS. Upon successful completion of the theory, clinical, a written state exam and a skills exam students will be licensed to practice as an LNA in New Hampshire. It is a great opportunity that has proved to provide successful employment to support students as they pursue their post-secondary experience.

Students are beginning to prepare for the HOSA State Conference which is on March 19-20, 2013 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. The HOSA State conference is a time for all interested Health Science students in the state of NH ( 9 schools, approximately 400 students) to gather for leadership training, team building, and a chance to meet other students interested in being future healthcare professionals. It is a great experience that is in a safe environment for students to learn and grow.

Students from all three Health Science classes participated in the “Be a Santa to a Senior “ program and were featured in an article in the Concord Monitor, Insider.
http://www.theconcordinsider.com/article/chs-students-collect-gifts-for-area-seniors

Automotive 

Post by: Phil Bill & Scott Mayotte 

Twenty four automotive students have signed up and are starting to prepare for the Ford/AAA competition. The competition is co-sponsored by AAA and Ford Motor Company. Its objective is to encourage talented young people to pursue careers as automotive service technicians. This is a nationwide competition for 11th and 12th grade students in secondary schools. Schools may enter one team (2 students). Auto technology students take a state qualifying exam which is taken on line. The ten teams scoring highest on the state qualifying exam then move on to the "hands-on" state finals. In the "hands-on" competition, new Ford Motor Company vehicles are uniformly "bugged" so that each team has identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair. The competition requires repairs to be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time. The winning two-person team from each state and their instructor are provided expense-paid trips to the national finals in June 2013.

Students win scholarships, trophies, jackets, certificates, trips and automotive equipment. Instructors are eligible to win training engines, equipment, trophies, trip and prestige for their schools. Awards start at the State Qualifying Exam level. Opportunities with the Ford ASSET program will be available to many of the competition finalists. The names of each contestant are submitted to AAA affiliated service facilities, Ford Motor Company dealers, and many other sponsoring organizations that have a need for automotive technicians and other service specialists. This competition complements other Ford and AAA efforts to promote the training and certification of qualified auto service technicians. These activities enlarge the pool of trained auto repair personnel available to serve the public.

    Criminal Justice

    Post by: Scott Lane

  An Exciting Career Path

There are few Career and Technical Education programs that give a student more employment options than Criminal Justice. Traditional police law enforcement, working as a uniformed police officer, is often viewed as the conclusion of this career path. But for many it is simply the start of a rewarding and exciting career.

Specialized law enforcement assignments can include S.W.A.T. operations, air support, K-9, criminal investigations, community resources, traffic enforcement, and under cover narcotics enforcement just to name a few.

There are few areas of society that are not regulated in some manner. Wild life officers, park rangers and Forest Service rangers help protection our outdoor resources. Border Patrol Agents, Immigration and Customs Officers support our Homeland Security efforts. The legal field employees court officers, criminal investigators, and facility security experts who often start their careers in traditional law enforcement roles.

These specialized law enforcement assignments are exciting, rewarding, and sought after by many. You can take the first step down any of these career paths in the C.R.T.C. Criminal Justice Program.

Cosmetology 

Post by: Kim Hannon

The junior and senior class pulled their resources together to put a smile on a child’s face for the holidays. The senior class had a very successful open salon night during the month of December. The proceeds went toward purchasing gifts for three young girls.

What skills are we learning now? In the salon lab juniors are perfecting their up-do and braiding techniques. The senior class is working on their artistic talent by practicing clipper cutting and hair stenciling designs. This service will be a new added on to our salon menu.

Our 2nd Annual Hair-Fashion is in the works. We have invited students from other career and technology centers to join us for this event. The theme this year is “What decade inspires you? Teams of students will create the hair and fashion of their favorite decade.

Graphic Arts

Post by: Tom Mungovan

This month in Graphic Arts will see the installation of a Smart Board and new 50” Flat Screen for classroom instruction. The new technology equipment will enhance learning functions and increase classroom discussions during our critique process. Internships are being geared up to start sending students out and about to experience a real life working environment. Projects being worked on were a complete game board design done by the seniors. The had to work in groups and design a real life working game board complete with instructions, game pieces, box design and actual board to play on. They did a tremendous job as all of their designs were top notch and ready to play. The juniors worked on DVD covers, book jacket designs and gained valuable experience in Photoshop and Illustrator. Both classes will be working on department logos for the CRTC. Stay tuned for the winners! Running Start dual enrollment classes will be offered this month for Manchester Community College, with the addition of these 3 new classes it brings up the total credits one can earn in Graphic Arts to 12 after high school graduation

Teacher Preparation

Post by: Val Flanders

Teaching with Technology

The advancement of technology has had a direct impact on the career of teaching. Today’s teachers are expected to integrate technology into their daily instruction and assessment. Students in the Teacher Preparation program are learning how to teach with technology.

The main technology focus for Teacher Preparation I is the interactive whiteboard. Students are using a program called Smart Board to design math and literacy lessons. They create their teaching materials on the computer. Then while they are teaching the materials are projected onto the interactive whiteboard. The preschool children use a special tool that allows them to move objects on the board. For example, if the student was teaching counting, he may have a picture of a penguin with a 3 on it’s belly. The preschool child would then move 3 fish over to feed the penguin. The Teacher Preparation I students are embracing this technology and have been quite creative when planning and teaching their lessons.

The main technology focus for Teacher Preparation II is the iPad. Every senior is going to get an iPad to use for the rest of the school year. There will be several apps that all of the students will have that will help them during the class portion of the program. They will be able to use the iPads to take quizzes, take notes, and complete research. Students will also be able to use the iPads for their internships. They will complete a digital journal and portfolio to document the growth of their professional skills. They will also be able to customize the iPads by choosing apps that are appropriate for teaching the children in their internship classrooms. The Teacher Preparation II students are eager to begin this exciting experience this month.

Information Technology

Post by: Joe Messineo

Intro to C# programming has been officially certified as a Running Start program. Courses taught through the Running Start program are college courses taught at the high school by credentialed high school faculty as part of the daily class schedule.Students who participate in a concurrent enrollment program are able to earn high school credit and college credit simultaneously.

Taking a college course while still in high school helps students learn about college expectations and sharpen academic skills while offering them a chance to discover what college classes are like before they arrive on a college campus. That means students will have a Running Start on other first-year students who have no prior college experience.

Accepting the challenge of taking college coursework shows that a student is serious and wants to make the most of his/her educational career

Teacher Spotlight: Bob McIntosh

Bob McIntosh

Sulinary Arts

Background: in the restaurant / hospitality industry since the 1970’s Worked in many styles of places including , fine dining, casual dining , hotels, seasonal resorts and restaurant consultation.

Other:

Adjunct instructor at Lakes Region CC, certified Servsafe proctor and instructor, certified Prostart proctor, National Education Team leader for Skills USA for 9 years, American Culinary Federation member - 7 years, apprentice trained sushi chef.

Fortune Cookie: Doing Is Learning
Quote: “Would you serve it?”

Our College Boards

Our college boards have started! As our program completer's are accepted into college and post secondary schools we encourage them to post it on their classroom boards. Check back in a few months and they will be full! To our students keep up the great work!

Spotlight on: Culinary Arts

Post by: Bob McIntosh

The culinary arts program at CRTC is designed to prepare student to enter the world of food service. This may be by working in the industry, finding an apprenticeship or pursuing a certificate or degree from a culinary college. Over the two years students study most aspects of running a restaurant including, cooking and baking methods, knife use, commercial equipment use and safety, dining room service, plating and garnish,etc. During these years student will operate our 50 seat cafe dining room and experience many types of service including casual and fine dining table service, buffet, catering, delivery, fast food and heat and eat.
The program has seen many changes over the last few years. Foremost, a renovation which started to open another space which eventually was outfitted as a separate bake shop, almost doubling the kitchen size. In addition most of the large kitchen equipment has been updated or added to and a large makeover of the dining room made a huge improvement. All of the updates have made it possible to branch out in new teaching areas and give the students more opportunities to learn what it’s like to run a restaurant operation.


Our curriculum is based on federal and state standards that mirror all of the accredited culinary colleges as well as national certification programs such as the American Culinary federation and National Restaurant Association Education Foundation. All aspects of cooking and baking are explored as foundation in the first year and then more in depth in the second. Management skills are also included when students learn to write menus, calculate food and labor cost, set up banquets and buffets and explore starting a business as a personal chef in our capstone project. Students also acquire job skills while participating in our SPUR conference process which is similar to a job review where students show evidence of their skills to prove they deserve the grades they apply for.

During their time here students are exposed to many work-based experiences and also have opportunities to pursue more on their own. Each year chefs from the major culinary schools, as well as the many wonderful local schools, demonstrate for us in our classroom, giving the students a great opportunity to learn about the schools one to one with a working instructor. In addition we are visited by many people who work in the non-traditional parts of the industry such as food and equipment sales, kitchen design and specialty businesses. We also have business partners that provide work opportunities in area restaurants and banquet facilities such as NH Lodging and Restaurant Association, the Marriott Grappone Center of Concord and the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua.

Students are also urged to participate in many other opportunities provided by the program. Career based clubs like Skills USA and the local American Culinary Federation chapter offer professional contacts and training as well as competitions and scholarships. We have been fortunate enough to have had many students compete at state level and win then be able to compete at the \national level, receiving scholarships as well as fantastic learning opportunities.

We also have articulation agreements and dual enrollment programs with colleges such as the Thompson School at UNH, Lakes Region Community College and the Culinary Institute of America, which allow students to earn college credit in their high school class. We also offer the opportunity to get nationally recognized industry certification through National Restaurant Association.

Some future projects I hope to get off the ground are in many areas. Our business partners are working with us to develop an internship program that will give the students hands on experience in area establishments. We are also trying to offer evening classes in our kitchen by the instructors at Lakes Region Community College and offer more dual enrollment credits as well.

Please feel free to stop by or come in for lunch some day and see what we’re cooking up for you.
Bon Apetit,
Chef Mac