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Introduction
Nine school districts-Avella, Burgettstown, Canon-McMillan, Chartiers-Houston, Fort Cherry, McGuffey, Peters Township, Trinity, and Washington-united in 1967 to form the Western Area Vocational-Technical School, known today as Western Area Career & Technology Center. Western Area Career & Technology Center is part of Intermediate Unit I, which encompasses Washington, Fayette, and Greene Counties. Our facility is considered a leader in technology among the sending schools and offers certification programs.
Washington County is in the midst of transition from a farming and rural setting to one in which technology is rapidly growing and prospering. As more students and families recognize the importance of career and technical education, the sending districts and Western Area Career & Technology Center have the opportunity to work in a more collaborative manner for the welfare of the students and communities of the region.
The mission of the Western Area Career & Technology is to provide quality educational experiences which will enable students to develop and expand technical and academic skills to meet the demands of the workforce
Western Area Career & Technology Center will:
1. Provide a competency-based educational program which integrates theory with academic skills and hands-on experiences and prepares students to develop to their maximum career potential.
2. Provide quality instruction which emphasizes marketable job skills, an appreciation of life-long learning and a strong work ethic for all students.
3. Provide a safe learning environment that replicates industry standards through the use of state-of-the-art equipment and current instructional methodology.
The Western Area Career & Technology faculty and staff realize their responsibility as part of the effort to sustain regional economic growth. Our first duty is to provide our students the training and education necessary to ensure their success in tomorrow's world. In addition, our existing businesses and industries require an educated, capable workforce that will guarantee continued viability. The services we provide and the individuals we educate and train must have the skills that will enable new businesses and industries to locate and thrive within our region.
As the workplace becomes more competitive, our completing students must have a variety of higher order academic, technical, and workplace skills and the willingness to use them if they are to succeed. That is why we have joined the High Schools That Work initiative. This data-driven program aimed at improving student achievement will enable us to identify our weaknesses while we focus our efforts toward those areas that require improvement. Already we have worked to improve our integration and reinforcement of academic skill and the acquisition of new industry-recognized certifications for our technical students. We have opened the enrollment of our academic courses and improved our offerings. To serve a variety of student needs, we now offer online academic coursework through the University of Nebraska.
I would hope that our students become first in the minds of local employers when they are in need of employees. We will certainly do our part to make sure that they are competent.
Dr. Joseph P. Iannetti
Director of Vocational Education
To apply or obtain more information concerning programs and services about any of the programs at Western Area Career & Technology Center, contact your sending school district guidance counselor. You will need to complete and submit an application to Western Area CTC prior to admission. The admission packet is available from your sending school counselor. Each sending school district maintains registration for students in grades 10, 11, and 12.
The number of students continuing their education is expected to continue to rise as more students recognize the value of advanced technical skills to career growth. With 80% of today's jobs requiring continued post-secondary technical training and education, increasingly greater numbers of students completing their career development experience at Western Area CTC are continuing their studies at the college level. College placement services are provided to students through sending schools and Western Area CTC's guidance and career counseling departments. Our recent graduates have chosen these and other post-secondary training and education options:
Allegheny College
California University of Pennsylvania
Central Pennsylvania College
Community College of Allegheny County
Douglas Education Center
Duquesne University
Empire Beauty School
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Kent State
Ohio Technical College
Penn Commercial
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Philip Pelusi Hair Salon Pittsburgh Culinary Institute
Pittsburgh Technical Institute
Robert Morris University
Rosedale Technical School
Triangle Tech
U.S. Army
ITT Technical Institute
U.S. Marine Corps
Washington Hospital School of Nursing
West Virginia University
Western Area CTC - LPN Program
Western School of Health and Business
WyoTech
Western Area CTC is continually working to provide new articulation agreements for our students. Formal articulation agreements providing advanced placement options are currently in place with:
Community College of Allegheny County
California University of Pennsylvania
ICM School of Business and Medical Careers
Ohio Auto/Diesel Technical College
Pittsburgh Technical Institute
Thaddeus Stevens College
Westmoreland County Community College
Based on the student's career goal, Western Area CTC provides job placement services to meet individual needs and interests. Placement rates for Western Area CTC graduates have been excellent and have historically exceeded 90% for those students who desire and actively pursue employment or college placement. Western Area CTC is committed to the placement of all successful students. In addition, placement services are available to Western Area CTC alumni. Western Area CTC would like to thank the following employers of our students:
Nine school districts- Avella Area, Burgettstown Area, Canon-McMillan Area, Chartiers-Houston Area, Fort Cherry Area, McGuffey Area, Peters Township Area, Trinity Area, and Washington Area -united in 1967 to form the Western Area Vocational-Technical School, known today as Western Area Career & Technology Center. Western Area Career & Technology Center is part of Intermediate Unit I, which encompasses Washington, Fayette, and Greene Counties. Our facility is considered a leader in technology among the sending schools and offers certification programs.
Washington County is in the midst of transition from a farming and rural setting to one in which technology is rapidly growing and prospering. As more students and families recognize the importance of career and technical education, the sending districts and Western Area Career & Technology Center have the opportunity to work in a more collaborative manner for the welfare of the students and communities of the region.
Western Area CTC participates in the state approved Tech Prep program. Tech Prep is a career and technical education program of study that consists of at least two years of secondary education, includes rigorous academic and technical components, and leads to admission into a two-year postsecondary certificate, associate degree or registered apprenticeship with the intent of completing all requirements of the program consistent with the student's career objective.
High Schools that Work
High Schools That Work (HSTW) is a national effort to improve the way high school students are prepared for work and further education. HSTW provides a framework of goals, key practices and key conditions for accelerating learning and setting higher standards to meet the criteria for comprehensive school reform.
The mission of schools in the HSTW network is to prepare high school students for both postsecondary education and a career by having students complete a solid academic core and either an academic, a career/technical, or a blended concentration. Pennsylvania has been affiliated with the HSTW initiative since 1991. Western Area Career & Technology Center joined the initiative in 2002. This initiative is what drives Western Area CTC's curriculum. Changes are made in the curriculum to meet the three major goals of HSTW:
* Raise the mathematics, science, communication, problem-solving and technical achievement of more students to the national average and above.
* Blend the essential content of traditional college-preparatory studies with quality career/technical studies.
* Advance state and local policies and leadership initiatives necessary to sustain a continuous school-improvement effort for both academic and career/technical studies.
HSTW sites expect students to complete a challenging curriculum that focuses on raising academic and technical achievement and meeting the HSTW performance goals in reading, mathematics, and science. To complete the recommended curriculum, each student takes:
* At least four English courses with the content and performance standards of college-preparatory English.
* At least three mathematics courses, including two courses with the content and performance standards of college-preparatory Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II and trigonometry.
* At least three science courses, including two courses with the content and performance standards of college-preparatory biology, chemistry and physics or applied physics.
* At least three college-preparatory-level social studies courses.
* At least four courses in a planned career/technical concentration or additional course work in either mathematics and science, the humanities, or a blended concentration.
* At least two courses in related academic and career/technical fields, including at least one-half credit in a basic computer course covering word processing, database entry, presentation software, and use of the Internet and e-mail.
Western Area CTC, in cooperation with our nine sending schools, encourages all students to complete this challenging curriculum.
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