Wisconsin State Superintendent visits Northwestern High School for Career and Technical Education Month

MAPLE, Wis. — Wisconsin State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly made a stop at Northwestern High School on Wednesday. Underly met with faculty and students in honor of Career and Technical Education Month.

The visit started with a presentation from manufacturing and construction students.

During a tour of the shop classes, students showcased their projects and discussed their future career aspirations.

Underly also visited a CNA, cooking, education and personal finance class.

CTE Month highlights various career pathways that are available in schools.

“These career pathways are really important. And so when we were in the health sciences, for example, or when we were in the education class and we’re talking to individuals who are thinking about maybe a career in teaching. It’s not just education or teaching, it could be social work, it could be speech and language or occupational therapy,” Underly said.

Wisconsin lacks state funding for CTE classes, so school districts often rely on community support to offer these programs.

“It’s really important that we offer these opportunities. I mean, we want our students to come out of school well rounded. We want them to be able to access, a post secondary pathway, whether it’s two year college, four year college, straight into the workforce, apprenticeship, whatever it might be,” Underly said.

Northwestern has various technology and engineering pathways, including construction and manufacturing course offerings. Students can learn basic woodworking, welding and even build a house in an upper level class.