Western Area CTC will temporarily move to full remote learning starting Tuesday, December 1, and ending Friday, December 11, 2020. In-person classes are scheduled to resume Monday, December 14, 2020. This is occurring due to the limited staff available and new recommendations of the PA Departments of Health and Education.

Please have your child log-on to their classroom at the assigned times. They must participate in Zoom classes, view the video and complete the assignments by the required due date to receive classroom grades.

Feel free to contact Western Area with any questions or via the school website.

Dr. Dennis J. McCarthy, Executive Director

dmccarthy@wactc.net

724.746.2890 Ext. 114

Two town hall meetings for parents, via Zoom, have been scheduled for Wednesday, November 18, 2020. See below for details to attend:

10:00 AM – Join Zoom Meeting – 45 Minutes               

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78324761723?pwd=cis2RElZNHNrSlF4a0oweU1YNU4wdz09
Meeting ID: 783 2476 1723
Passcode: 7TqaeM

5:30 PM – Join Zoom Meeting – 45 Minutes

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78590815983?pwd=MmUvY01FRUFLNU8zejlnWW1PWG1Ddz09
Meeting ID: 785 9081 5983
Passcode: G6uxmK

We have survived the first week of school. The students are fantastic and have adhered to the new guidelines amidst the confusion.

We are still mandating that face masks be worn to enter the building. The State has asked that students not wear neck gaiters or bandanas due to the fact that they are not safe. Surgical masks or masks in general are acceptable. Students that do not have acceptable types of masks will be provided with masks by the school. Face shields are also available if a student would prefer to wear one of those instead.

All water fountains have been locked in the school. Until our cooling water stations are shipped and installed, ice water is available in every shop for students to hydrate themselves.

Our students have started hands-on learning and begun working on shop-related projects. Until we are certain all safety precautions are intact, we are requesting that no outside requests be made to have items built or repaired by our students.

Cosmetology clinic is canceled until further notice. The date will be posted when the clinic will resume.

Student drop-off and pick-up have changed as well. Since many schools are sending additional buses, please do not drop off or pick up your children at the circle. There are designated places for drop-off and pick-up. Please follow the signs in our parking lot.

Our Practical Nursing program has also had some changes. With the support and approval of the State Board of Nursing, the start date of our full-time day program has been postponed for six months. We have advertised for a qualified Program Administrator and part-time instructors. If you or someone you know are interested in applying, please contact the school.

In an effort to keep everyone informed, two Zoom meetings will be held on September 23rd, the first at 10 AM and a second at 5:30 PM. The meetings will last approximately 45 minutes. Please continue to check our web page for meeting log-on information.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or need information concerning our school, our programs, and most importantly, your children.

Stay Safe!

The decision to open school was reached after a lot of sleepless nights. Because our major concern is the safety and protection of our students and staff, countless hours have been spent arranging, rearranging, and cleaning every shop and classroom. And to adhere to “social distancing” guidelines, we have relocated some of our theory rooms. 

Career and Technical Education will be very different this school year. Every effort will be made by the administration and staff to provide as much hands-on instruction as is possible and permitted under these conditions, keeping in mind that Western Area must follow CDC Guidelines, PDE mandates, and the recommendations of our nine sending schools. We will also offer more theory via Zoom and Google Classroom due to this unpredictable pandemic. 

Our teachers are trying their best to provide our students with the best possible education. But we do need your help. FIRST: Be patient with us! Things change daily, sometimes by the minute. We are working to the best of our ability to make sure both theory (and when possible practical experience) occurs. SECOND: Work with your children when assignments are given to them by their teachers. When we have to provide distant learning, homework and assignments will be issued. We will be grading them the same as we would if they were in our building. Paraprofessionals will be assigned to several technologies and will be available to assist with any issues that may occur. We are all in this together. If you are having problems or have questions, call us. Our administration and staff are here to help. 

-- All students and staff will be required to wear either a face mask or face shield. 

-- Parents and Guardians should check their child’s temperature at home each day before sending the child to school. If a child has a temperature, or any signs of illness, please keep your child home. 

-- If a child becomes ill or has a temperature of 100.4 or higher while at school, the child will be isolated until a parent or guardian comes to get him/her. They will not be permitted to return to the home school on the bus. 

-- Our staff will do temperature checks on everyone entering the building. 

We have tried to make decisions that will best benefit our students while at the same time focusing on their safety and the safety of our staff. And although these decisions may create an inconvenience for some, they allow us all to be safe during these uncertain times. 

This has been a stressful and confusing summer. Let’s hope this passes soon and we return to some normality. Stay Safe.

We are slowly getting back to some normalcy. Even though we are in the "Yellow" phase, we still have a long way to go to get to the "Green" zone.

We will be doing only senior testing for some of our technologies and hope to start this in the next few weeks. Any student who is unable to come to the school for testing will still be able to do it remotely. We are trying to get as many certifications for our seniors as we can before the end of the school year.

Our plan is to have Health Assistant, Culinary Arts, Welding, our Construction Cluster and Networking start the wave for senior certifications. Since we technically have only three weeks of school remaining, we will make every effort to award as many certifications that we can in this short time.

We will be opening our CDL and Practical Nursing programs on Monday, May 18, 2020, to allow students entry into the building.

Classrooms are set up for social distancing. Everyone must have a mask on during the testing. The room will be cleaned before and after each class. Safety and sanitation are key for everything we do. Safety barricades are being installed in our main office as well as in the Practical Nursing and CDL buildings.

I will continue to keep you updated on graduation ceremonies, grading, assignments, and plans for the start of next school year. We, of course, are awaiting guidance from the Governor's office and the Department of Health.

I hope you are staying safe and being careful. We are all hopeful that by following the regulations and guidelines our lives will get back to "normal."

Stay Safe Everyone!

In times of national or international tragedy, people come together to do all they can to survive. The Western Area faculty and staff want to assure our students, parents, and community that we are doing all we can to provide our students with an enriched education. In an effort to ensure our students do not fall behind, we will continue to send assignments to our students. I realize this is not as much fun as the hands-on projects our students are used to working on, but hopefully this will only be for a short time.

To our parents: Please make sure your child completes the work sent to them by their teacher. And if you have any questions, email your child's teacher. Our paraprofessionals may also be emailing and/or calling our students to help them succeed. All work will be given a pass/fail grade. Our goal is that no students fail.

To the community: Our challenge is to make sure we are producing the best students to work in your industry. We know we have great students and are hopeful this unusual way of teaching will keep them actively involved in their chosen programs so they are job-ready when we return.

Even though we are living in different and difficult times, our teachers are doing an outstanding job making sure our students continue to receive enriched educational learning materials. We thank all parents and the community for your support and look forward to having our students back in the classroom!

If you need anything or have questions, please do not hesitate to email me at dmccarthy@wactc.net. Stay safe and stay in touch.

Western Area Career & Technology Center is taking the Coronavirus very seriously.

• We have educated all of our teachers on the virus and ways to stop it from spreading.
• We have put Purell hand sanitizers in every classroom to be used by students and staff. 
• Our school nurse has spoken to each technology about hand washing and proper ways to deal with cold and flus. 
• We have given each teacher a kit containing Kleenex, disinfectant wipes, disinfectant spray and hand sanitizers. 
• Purell hand sanitizer has been placed in every bathroom. 
• Our custodians sanitize each technology at night when students leave for the day. 
• We are also cleaning every door handle in the building in case proper hygiene is not being followed. We are staying very proactive for this virus and will continue to use this practice throughout the school year. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns of what we are doing to deter the spread of the Coronavirus.