CATEC April 2023 Newsletter

There are lots of ways to know what is happening at CATEC. Keep in touch with us to know what our students are doing and all the ways we are working to improve our local workforce.

High School

• Call us (434) 973-4461
• Visit us www.catec.org
• Download our app CATEC, VA
• Follow us at CATECHighSchool (Facebook), CATEC High School (YouTube), @CATEChs (Twitter), @catechighschool (Instagram), @catechighschool (TikTok)

Adult Education and Apprenticeship

Are you an adult interested in continuing your education? CATEC's Adult Education and Apprenticeship Program offers +100 in-person and online classes. Scholarships are available. Keep in touch with this program to learn more:

• Call us (434) 973-1945
• Visit us: https://www.catec.org/page/adult-education-and-apprenticeship-programs
• Follow us at CATEC Adult Education and Apprenticeship (Facebook), @CATEC_Adult (Twitter), @catec_adult_education (Instagram)
• Read through Course Catalog Options

Dear CATEC Families,

May is a busy month as we celebrate all that our students have accomplished during the school year. A number of our programs are involved in the CATEC Interview Week May 1-5, during which potential employers will interview our students. Successful candidates will be offered jobs and participate in Signing Day on May 16th. Shortly thereafter, we will recognize our students who have completed a program sequence in our annual CATEC Completer Ceremony. All of these events embody the CATEC mission to strengthen our students’ pathways into life after high school. We are hosting our Completer Ceremony on June 1 at 7:00 PM. More information to come.

Please mark your family calendars for our schoolwide events taking place this Spring:

• May 1-5 Interview Week
• May 16 Signing Day
• June 1 Completers' Ceremony

Sincerely,

Stephanie Carter

CATEC Director

May 1- CATEC Foundation Board Scholarship applications due

May 1-5- Interview Week

May 16- Joint and Center Board Meetings

May 16- School-to-Work Signing Day (info to follow)

May 22- CATEC Awards Day

May 26- CATEC Senior Picnic

June 1- CATEC Completers Ceremony (info to follow)

Trying to figure out what class to register for next year? Interested in learning about dual-enrollment opportunities? Have a concern you'd like to discuss with a counselor? Visit Ms. Wilson and Ms. English in the Career and Counseling Corner!

CATEC values making sure students graduate with the technical skills and workplace skills necessary for entering the workforce. CATEC has implemented a "CATEC Students Are Professional" mantra to ensure students understand what it takes to be successful in our building and in the workforce. Students are expected to act in accordance with industry standards and practice the 22 21st Century Workplace Readiness Skills for the Commonwealth.

In April, Mrs. Panek worked with students who need Workplace Readiness Skill Assessment credentials to ensure they meet graduation requirements.

CATEC offers academic courses that are both embedded in trade curricula and offered as stand-alone courses. Taking trade and academic courses at CATEC allows students more flexibility with their scheduling as well as learning class materials in authentic ways.

English 12/Government: Megan Panek and David Topper

Students are working on the last unit of the year by learning about the executive branch of government. We are researching and taking a stand on important domestic issues and also discussing how America deals with foreign policy issues. We’ll wrap up the class with a field trip to Washington D.C on Wednesday, May 17th! Permission slips have already been sent home!

English 11 & English 12 Megan Panek

Our last unit of the year has us reading To Kill a Mockingbird and connecting the awesome life lessons in the book to our own lives. Reading is also helping the 11th graders prepare for the SOL Reading Test. This test is being given on Thursday, May 11th at Albemarle High School; Friday, May 12th at Monticello High School; and Thursday, May 18th at Western Albemarle High School.

Economics and Personal Finance: David Topper

We are wrapping up the school year with a unit on investing. Did you know that the estimated life expectancy for when your 17-year-old students retire around the year 2070 could be 90 years old? That means that your son’s and daughters will have about 35 years after they retire to live. Will they be prepared financially? Those are the lessons we will be discussing in our last unit in class. How investing TODAY pays off in the future.

Each month, we introduce you to two current CATEC students. Here at CATEC, we know our student body is diverse and interesting and we want to share their stories with our community.

Alysa Moses is a Monticello High School 12th grader who decided to attend CATEC because she has such great memories cooking with her grandmother. Her favorite project in the class has been Cupcake Wars because she wants to one day own a food truck bakery. After graduation she plans to attend CATEC's Culinary Arts 2 class and work in the culinary industry.

Sean Lynch is a Charlottesville High School 12th grader who took Electricity 1 first semester and Carpentry 1 second semester. Sean is very interested in real estate, already working on his professional plan upon graduation. He will work in the real estate restoration industry, already attending investment meetings in Charlottesville. He is an Eagle Scout who plays three instruments as well.

This month we're recognizing our Cosmetology program because April 25th marks Hairstylist Appreciation Day. We're happy to celebrate our Cosmetology program and all of the stylists in our community who not only support our Cosmetology program but also have managed to continue providing excellent service when faced with difficulties in the past two years.

Cosmetology Curriculum

CATEC’s Cosmetology program is a two-year program consisting of 840 training hours. Students study hair, skin, nails, and their related care. The curriculum is grounded in theory that prepares students to practice procedures in clinical lab and classroom settings. Students use mannequins for manipulative skill practice, training in safety and chemical processes related to permanent waves, relaxing, soft-curling, lightening, and hair color. Students learn to care for skin, hands, and feet, developing expertise in providing facials, manicures, and pedicures.

Certifications

During their two years of coursework, Cosmetology students have opportunities to certify in industry credentials. These include: Icon Shears, Domestic Abuse, Human Trafficking, Infection Control, and Barbicide. Cosmetology II students spend their second year progressing in their learning and preparing to take their Virginia Board of Cosmetology examination. Cosmetology II students learn advanced theory and learn advanced skills.

Projected Job Growth

Once licensed in the state of Virginia, professionals are able to provide beauty services such as shampooing, cutting, coloring, and styling hair, applying makeup, dressing wigs, performing hair removal, and providing nail and skin care services. The projected job growth in Virginia for the Cosmetology industry shows an increase of 10%, with Virginia earning approximately $6,000 more per year than the national average. Brown estimates that, to date, there are more than 500 CATEC Cosmetology graduates working locally in the industry. Two of them, Instructors Brown and Waller, are both graduates from the program!

Mrs. Brown started her career in the Cosmetology field 1982 as a "shampoo girl." She received her training as a high school student at CATEC and has been teaching Cosmetology at CATEC since 2001. Mrs. Brown is a licensed Cosmetologist, a licensed Cosmetology Instructor, and a certified Milady Master Educator. When asked what she loves most about what she does, she said, “The thing that I love the most about Cosmetology, and being an instructor, is the change that I see in a client’s – or a student’s – eyes when it all comes together. Just to know that I may have had a part in that is very rewarding to me.”

Ms. Waller has worked in the Cosmetology industry and has owned her own salon for more 20 years. She currently holds a Cosmetology License as well as a Cosmetology Instructor’s License. Ms. Waller began her studies at CATEC in the Cosmetology program and has continued her education by studying through a certification course at Dudley’s Cosmetology University and the Advance Cosmetology Institute every year. She is currently working on her My Milady Master Educator Certification. When asked what she loves most about what she does, she said, “I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to give back the opportunity that was given to me. What I love most about my field has been, and continues to be, having the ability to share the beauty and art that can be achieved in our field. The highlight for me has been when former students return and share their experiences and growth in our industry.”

CATEC offers Adult Education and Apprenticeship training that covers a range of technical education courses. The career and technical offerings will help lifelong learners: enhance current skills, gain new knowledge for increased job marketability, continue life-long learning, make life more enjoyable, or simply have fun. CATEC provides a positive place for post-secondary learning. Apprenticeship programs are approved by the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and provide employer sponsors and their employees with the required related technical instruction hours needed to satisfy a full Apprenticeship program. Watch a video here.

• View the Fall 2023 Catalog
• Register Today

In recognition of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 8-12) , CATEF celebrates CATEC's teachers and staff by recognizing their lasting contributions to CATEC students and to the workforce needs of our local community. Additionally, CATEF sponsoring CATEC's 2023 School-to-Work Signing Day Event, to be held on May 16, 2023. Eligible students will be contacted by Mrs. Jay.

CATEF additional scholarship opportunities for our graduating students. Read more below for information regarding these scholarships. Apply for all scholarships here. All scholarship applications are due May 1, 2023. Please contact Ms. Wood in CATEC's Front Office if you have any questions or concerns. She can be reached at 434-973-4461 or lwood5@k12albemarle.org.

Leslie Hughes Walton Memorial Scholarship - $2,000 The award is based on grades, what the student intends to do with their education, and financial need. The first year's award will be $1500.00 and the second year's award will be $500.00.

Lance Van de Castle Scholarship - $1,000 This recipient must be a Building Trades or Electricity student in high school or apprenticeship program who is pursuing post- secondary or additional training in that particular trade area. In Mr. Van de Castle's memory, the student needs to have a "clear desire to do what is right and accept nothing but the best."

CATEC Foundation Opportunity Fund Scholarships- Varies These scholarships are based on academic success, community service, demonstration of technical skills, work ethic, and financial need. Priority will be given to students enrolling in CATEC Adult Education and Apprenticeship programs. This scholarship will cover the full cost of one semester of the chosen program in CATEC's Adult program. Scholarships may be given for other post-secondary schools. More than one scholarship may be awarded. APPLY FOR AN ADULT EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY FUND SCHOLARSHIP TODAY!

Justin Tilghman Culinary Scholarship - $1,000 The Justin Tilghman Culinary Scholarship is established in the memory of our Son, Brother, Friend and lover of the culinary arts, Justin Tilghman. As a former graduate of the Culinary Program at CATEC, Justin continued his passion for cooking in multiple established restaurants in Charlottesville and the surrounding area. Constantly reading and learning to better his skill and technique in the kitchen, Justin displayed all the traits of a true chef throughout. It is with this scholarship we hope to instill the same passion for cooking and hospitality that Justin strived for throughout his career and his brief time in this world. Thank you for remembering Justin and helping our students.

Email: scarter@k12albemarle.org
Website: www.catec.org
Location: 1000 Rio Road East, Charlottesville, VA, USA
Phone: 434-973-4461
Facebook: facebook.com/CATECHighSchool
Twitter: @CATEChs