CTE Virtual Showcase
SPS CTE Virtual Showcase
Browse the work our incredible CTE teachers and staff are doing to connect students to careers!
Have a question or want to submit work of your own? Email ksyork@tccestates.com.
November 2024 CTE Showcase
A good time was had by all at the Renton Liberty High School on Sunday November 17th at the Unified Robotics competition. The Franklin HS team placed 5th out of 10 in their Division, briefly holding second place. Their robot race-car performed reliably and even won the “innovation” award! Thank you to the volunteers, students, families, and administrators that made this happen!
Ms. Martin and Ms. Dotrong from Chief Sealth HS hosted Jaap Haartsen, inventor of Bluetooth wireless technology in their second period classes. Mr. Haartsen described the technical and business processes of getting the Bluetooth patent in place, describing sharing spectrums via wifi, frequency hopping, and existing technologies that he synthesized to develop this innovative technology. We are very grateful to INVENT.ORG for helping coordinate this visit– what a treat for our staff and students!
On Friday November 8, Roosevelt high school DECA sent their 7 student leadership team to engage in networking, leadership training, and competition at the DECA Western Region Leadership Conference. Two students were recognized for outstanding achievement in the Marketing role-play event. The next step for Roosevelt DECA is the Area 2 competition on January 9th followed by the Virtual Business Challenge January 14-24th. It’s never too early to start exploring careers– get involved at your school today!
Career and Technical Education offers students leadership opportunities in our 9 pathways. At Roosevelt, HOSA helps connect students interested in health care with trends in the labor market of the future. Pictured below are students at leadership events last year and this’s fall leadership conference along with advisor, Ms. Coulthard! Find an opportunity at your school by checking out the CTE Student Leadership Opportunity page.
Over 20 elementary schools are exploring careers and STEM by competing in the First Lego League Robotics competition this December! Pictured are students at Lafayette and Arbor Heights. Students are preparing by building sets and coding robots ahead of the December competition.
Just like in the modern workplace, students divide into groups of researchers, project managers, coders, and building/materials managers to get the job done. Early exposure to coding, design-thinking, and working as a team is essential to connecting our students to careers of the future! Read more about FLL Robotics here or watch the video below!
Archives
Classroom to Career Day at Chief Sealth
Ms. Temple and Ms. Filley-Bentler from Chief Sealth held the second annual Classroom to Career Day at Chief Sealth International High School last week. Students enjoyed a BIPOC Speaker Spotlight presentation during which students heard about career and college journeys, followed by a huge career fair in the library featuring college, career, and internship program opportunities! How did this impact students? Below is some feedback:
- “I tried out some of the tools and equipment they brought, and it gave me a chance to experience that trade and see my future in it.”
- “It reinforced that health care is the path I want to pursue, and there are many options within that field to explore.
ACE Mentorship Kick-Off Draws a Crowd at Cleveland HS
Hundreds of ACE mentees gathered at Cleveland High School this week to meet their mentors and kick off a year of learning in architecture, construction, and engineering. Stay tuned for updates on SPS students participating in ACE this year, and check out the ACE website to learn more!
Ballard Videography Students Create PSAs
Wash your hands! Protect your hearing! Promoting local non-profit organizations! Ballard high school videography students created public service announcements both general, and for local non-profits. Completing work-based learning activities while learning technical skills and having fun are hallmarks of career and technical learning. See below stills from Mr. Bradford’s class! Check back for a live link to view student work.
Roosevelt Brings HMT/BioMed Equipment Speaker
Career Connected Learning Coordinator at Roosevelt, Mr. Rho brought in a speaker to share information on health management technology and biomed equipment technology. Learn more about pathways in health and medicine by visiting our pathways pages!
Nova Curriculum Night Brings Colleges, Programs to Students
Nova’s Career Connected Learning Coordinator brough college and career readiness partners to Nova’s curriculum night, welcoming Seattle Colleges tables, Seattle University, as well as Career and Technical Education and Pre-Apprenticeship Pathways. Students shared their careers of interest and talked with colleges and programs about different pathways to their futures!
Environmental Science Class Works with Port of Seattle Mentors
Environmental Science students from West Seattle High School got their hands dirty, working with Port of Seattle mentors to survey and design sustainable green spaces. Thank you so much to CTE Teacher Ms. Murdock for organizing this hands-on learning opportunity for students, connecting them directly with industry while exploring the science of the environment.
Pre-Apprenticeship Program at Interagency and Ingraham High School
Pre-apprenticeship at Ingraham and Interagency high school is in full swing with students learning welding, carpentry, and CAD Design!
High school students from all schools are eligible to join a pre-apprenticeship class at Interagency High School and Ingraham High School. Interagency is still accepting students into the program this semester and next semester. This pre-apprenticeship is a Labor and Industry-recognized training program. Students who earn certification can qualify for a priority hire for trades through apprenticeships and on Seattle Public Schools construction projects.
If you are interested in learning more, contact Jay Connolly at jcconnolly@tccestates.com.
Coping 101: Nathan Hale Podcast Destigmatizes Mental Health Issues
Nathan Hale’s Coping 101 podcast was recently featured on the news! Based out of c89.5 which is located at Nathan Hale, students use the podcast to tackle sensitive topics relevant to young people today. Grateful to our student leaders and partners at c89.5 for helping bring this project to life. “This project won’t end the many pressures and challenges teens face, but as the name says, it can help them learn how best to cope”. Read more and learn how to tune in!
Garfield and Lincoln Technical Theater Students Win Thespys!
Congratulations to Thespy (theater conference) winners from Lincoln, who won in Set Design and Garfield, who won in Costume Design. Students in fields including stage management ,sound design, and costume construction and design won honorable mentions! Read more about the conference and our SPS students !
Career Quest and Skills Center Students Shine in Summer Classes
Seattle Skills Center students and Career Quest interns had a blast with various kinds of hands-on learning. Pictured below are images from: Career Choices (automotive week), Careers in Education (coaching edition!), Introduction to Medical Careers, Culinary Arts, and some student work from our Media Arts class. Thank you for a wonderful summer, teachers and students!
SPS Pre-Apprenticeship Celebrates First Graduating Class
Congratulations to our six students completing the inaugural Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council-approved Seattle Public Schools Pre-Apprenticeship! The students below have completed all program requirements in math, science, CTE, dual college credit, certifications, and met strength and dexterity standards to enter into apprenticeship. All of these students qualify for all preferred hire benefits. Learn more about our Pre-Apprenticeship program. Congratulations to these incredible students!
Skills Center Firefighting Students Send Seniors Off in End of Year Ceremony
Seattle Skills Center is wrapping up the year and saying farewell to graduating seniors this week. Parents and family friends were invited to participate in a senior ceremony. Several seniors will be continuing their firefighting education at University of Alaska this fall. Good luck to all and congratulations from everyone at CTE!
Nathan Hale Students Earn CPR Certification
Ms. Umdor-Singh’s students from Systems Medicine class are entering the summer with their CPR certifications up-to-date. They ended the year strong with hands-on experiments, and learning more about body systems through a dissection project of a fetal pig.
Nathan Hale Students Visit ARVO 2024 Annual Meeting
CTE Teacher Ms. Umdor-Singh took her Physiology and Systems Medicine students to the 2024 Association for Research in Vision and Opthalmology National meeting. Students heard presentations, browsed research papers and posters and got a taste of what it takes to be in the medical research field.
SPS Soars in State Photography Competition
West Seattle High School tied for 7th overall in State Photography Competition, with two students selected for Landscape prizes, placing 2nd and 5th. CTE students in photography fuse artistic and creative sensibilities with technical abilities to produce exciting, engaging, images! Ballard and Garfield Students also placed in Abstract and Animal categories. Check out some of the wonderful work of West Seattle HS students in the gallery below. Thank you to CTE Teacher Ms. Perletti for sharing these images!
Roosevelt Visits REI Creative Lab
Roosevelt Engineering students led by CTE Teacher Mr. Ruff visited the REI Product Development’s Creative Hub team and left feeling inspired about creating new products for the next generation of explorers. Hands on learning, connection with industry, and field trips combining workplace readiness, math and science skills. Gotta love CTE!
Garfield, Roosevelt Shine at DECA
Roosevelt DECA had a competitor in the top 20 in the world in the Human Resources Management role play event! As a 3 time ICDC qualifier it was great to see his work recognized at his final ICDC. Congratulations to all of the students that attended the DECA Worlds event in Anaheim. Thank you to CTE Teacher Ms. Carter for the guidance, coordination, and leadership!
Garfield had an amazing time at DECA 2024 ICDC in Anaheim. Students represented their school, city, and state very well. One student made it tot he finals and brought home a medal for the top twenty finalists in the category of Hospitality and Tourism Professional Selling. Congratulations and thank you to CTE Teacher Mr. Ellis!
Ingraham High School Career Fair and Guest Speakers Draw a Crowd
Ingraham High School Career Connected Learning Coordinator Ms. SImone organized a career fair with tables and guest speakers visited by hundreds of students! Students visited Ms. Simone’s office with a greater sense of purpose and direction regarding a career path.
Horticulture Classes are in Full Bloom!
Nathan Hale, Ballard, and Nova horticulture teachers participated in Plant a Seed Day at Ballard Farmer’s Market! Nathan Hale students are hosting a plant sale next weekend! Thank you to our dedicated teachers for exposing our students to exciting opportunities like this during the school week and on weekends.
Lincoln High School Students Advocate for Better Environmental Policy
Lincoln High School students from the Environmental Club spoke about environmental advocacy on Rainier Ave Radio! They participated in an event at the Columbia City Theatre called “Earth deserves more”.
Ballard and Garfield Video Production Students nominated for Student Emmys!
Garfield and Ballard students had quite a showing at this years National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NW) competition!
Of 18 entries, Garfield received 10 “Student Emmy” nominations, dominating the category of best editor. Nominees will accompany Video Production teacher Mr. Pugh to the NATAS NW Emmy Ceremony in June and will get the change to meet and greet professionals working in local TV. Stills from Garfield students’ work can be found below!
Ballard students in Mr. Bradford’s class received many nominations in categories including News Report, Fiction Short Form and nominations in craft categories including editing, photography and writing. Check out film stills from student work entitled Seattle Music, Ticket to Yesterday, Leaving No Trace, Balancing, and Truth Wanting Forgiveness below! Congratulations to all of our students!
7 SPS Students Earn Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship
We are thrilled to have had 7 students from 5 SPS schools (Chief Sealth, Franklin, Garfield, Lincoln, and Cleveland) earn the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship! Big congratulations to these students for putting in the hard work that it took to earn this scholarship!
Congratulations to Team XBot!
This year sixteen (16) students from Cleveland High School and thirty-four (24) students from Franklin High School participated in Team XBOT, the second-oldest FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). Team XBOT powered through local competitions in Auburn and Bellevue to qualify for participation in the PNW District Championship held in Portland, Oregon.
Not sure what it looks like to participate in a robotics competition? Watch one of the Team XBOT’s playoff matches.
Robotics Team from Franklin and Cleveland Compete at National Tournament
Students from Franklin and Cleveland High Schools are down in Portland this weekend with their XBot Robotics mentors competing for a spot in the world robotics competition! Robotics is a rapidly growing field and we love to see our SPS students learning the ins and outs of robots! Good luck to the team and hope to report back from an even larger competition stage soon!
Health Care Workers of the Future at HILT Fair
Over 125 students from 5 schools attended the HILT Health Care fair last week! Students met with industry professionals and visited booths, completing activities and learning more about the wealth of health and medical careers in the Puget Sound area. Pictured below are students from the Skills Center Medical Assisting class!
Lincoln Students Film and Produce Videos for SkillsUSA
Congratulations to Mr. Bubb and Lincoln students for filming and editing a promotional video for SkillsUSA Washington 2024 in Tacoma! Visit SkillUSA’s website to learn more about CTSOs and see students’ work.
Happy Pi Day! 3.14159265358979
Nathan Hale Culinary Arts students celebrated 3/14 in style with a wide variety of pies! Check out the golden crust and delicious savory and sweet fillings! Thanks to CTE Teacher Ms. Pyles for sharing and leading the celebration!
Franklin Summer Opportunity Fair Draws a Crowd
CTE Teacher Mr. Ruiz had 900 students visit the career fair that he organized! With 35 vendors, students came through from Social Studies classes all day, the Franklin Summer Opportunity Fair was a huge success. Looking for an internship or summer learning opportunity? Look no further than our Career Quest internship page!
Interagency Health Program Visits Children’s Hospital
CTE Teacher Mr. Gyamerah took his students on a field trip to Seattle Children’s Hospital as part of their health care program. Student got to learn by doing, practicing dosing and experimenting with ultrasound. The health care field is an important and growing field in the Puget Sound area. We are grateful to our teachers and partners for exposing students to these opportunities!
Roosevelt Students Shine at DECA
Congratulations to all of the students in DECA at Roosevelt High School!
110 students from Roosevelt High School went to the State DECA competition this month. 18 students advanced to international career development conference qualifier for competitions including membership and charter campaigns, retail merchandising, and integrated marketing campaign-product!
Sealth CTE Teacher Shows School Spirit!
CTE Teacher at Chief Sealth, Ms. Martin, has worn Chief Sealth colors every school day for the past 11 years! “What started out as a joke between colleagues has had Martin dressing in the school’s colors since 2013…”. Read more and see pictures of Ms. Martin’s extensive Columbia blue and red collection of attire in our communications newsletter!
Pre-Apprenticeship and Manufacturing Students at SkillsUSA Everett
SPS students in the pre-apprenticeship and manufacturing class tested their “metal” during a SkillsUSA event in Everett! CTE offers an L&I recognized Pre-Apprenticeship associated with the SCWA, and SPS project labor agreement. Students in the cohort can qualify for trades apprenticeships upon graduation. Reach out to cte@tccestates.com to learn more!
Urban League Highlights Incubator Program at Roosevelt
CTE Teacher Ms. Carter’s business and marketing students at Roosevelt heard from Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle. They shared their education and career experiences and told students about the many services that Urban League provides to the community. As a highlight, they invited students– especially BIPOC students– to register for the summer business incubator program. Learn more about the incubator program!
Seattle Skills Center Maritime Students Catch Some Sunshine!
Seattle Skills Center students have largely been confined to the classroom during the winter months at Seattle Maritime Academy. This February, however, they took to the water, navigating the docks and seaways as a team. Students in the Maritime program earn their Boater Education cards at the end of the class and are primed to start a career on the seas! Learn more on Seattle Skills’ Center’s website.
Smoke, Sparks, Fire, and High School Credit – Only at Skills Center!
SPSTV featured Skills Center’s Advanced Manufacturing course, highlighting welding projects and sharing student experience of this very unique class within Seattle Public Schools. Students in Advanced Manufacturing have the opportunity to earn CTE credit or math or science credit through hands-on learning activities. They earn college credit at South Seattle College and gain industry-recognized credentials. Learn more about all of the Skills Center classes by visiting the Skills Center website.
Chief Sealth Students on Tour
Ms. Filley-Bentler’s Career Connections 2 class went on a massive field trip to Bellevue City Hall, Health Education Center, and Wood Technology Center to explore careers in government, policing), health careers, and skilled trades. Figuring out the career pathway that students are most interested in pursuing helps them plan their classwork in high school and plan for the future!
Medical Assisting Students Tour Seattle Central College
Students in Ms. Standley’s Medical Assisting class at Skills Center (Lincoln High School) visited Seattle Central College to learn more about the medical assisting program there. Students in Ms. Standley’s class can earn up to 30 college credits upon successful completion of the class. For the occasion, Ms. Standley sewed them all special lanyards to wear with their scrubs, pictured below.
A Dive into the CTE Archives
Skills Center Career Connected Learning Coordinator Ms. Luboff took a dive into the archives, uncovering images from CTE classes in the 1960s! Check out the photos below from automotive tech, television production, and manufacturing classes.
Over 60 Classes Participate in Hour of Code 2023
Industry volunteers from Google, Amazon, MineCraft, Code.Org, and Microsoft joined grades 4-12 all across the district to lead coding exercises and job talks for students! Hour of Code is a great way to get exposure to the ever-evolving field of computer science. Visit our Hour of Code webpage for more resources and learning tools!
Lincoln High School Students Engineer Ocean Sensors
Lincoln High School Oceanography students create waterproof ocean sensors, balancing physical constraints with space needed for sensors to detect and gather information about our waterways. Watch them talk through the engineering process and lessons learned here!
AAMA Leads Black College Expo at Rainier Beach HS on November 4
Seattle Public Schools African American Male Achievement Office is hosting a Black College Expo at Rainier Beach High School this year. Over 50 colleges will be represented with on-spot acceptances, application fee waivers, cash prizes, and a surprise celebrity guest! Mark your calendars and join the fun for this event! Students should register by 10/23 to confirm their attendance!
West Seattle High School CTSO Photographs Noche de los Muertos
Students in CTE Teacher Ms. Perletti’s class completed service learning hours by documenting and photographing Festival de Noche de Muertos. Students expanded their portfolios and gained experience in professional photography. The group is also working collaboratively with Latinx Student Union to finish up an installation for Dia de los Muertos at West Seattle High School, utilizing photographs from the field trip.
Parent Education Lab Gifted Tie Blankets by Middle College
The Parent Education Lab (PEL) at Alan T. Sugiyama HS, which provides care for infants and toddlers of enrolled teen moms, was gifted tie blankets created by the Middle College teacher, Vincent Marx, and his students.
The blankets will be used for infant tummy time, toddler name time, and will be gifted to the children who enjoyed them while at PEL. We love to see students helping and uplifting our community! Thank you to Ms. Visscher for sharing this story.
Garfield Students Talk Mental Health with Seahawks
Garfield High School Family Health students from Ms. Manuel’s class attended the Character Playbook Event with the Seahawks and Everfi. Students had conversations with players like Walter Jones, Tre Brown, and Jerrick Reed. They also talked to dancers Cameron and Taylor, as well as in-game Host, Carla Marie. We are proud of our students for their leadership and courage in these conversations!
Over 150 Middle School Students Explore Robotics with Amazon
Middle school students from all over the school district field tripped to Amazon’s Arizona Building, where they heard from speakers and participated in STEM and Robotics activities with Amazon volunteers for the day. CTE’s goal is to build a strong pipeline for our students to careers in high-demand, high-skills jobs.
HS Human Development Class Teaches STEM at Gatewood Elementary
CTE Teacher Ms. Stanton’s Chief Sealth Human Development class planned and led an exercise on static electricity at Gatewood Elementary School. Students got hands-on, using balloons for an experiment. Check out the sweet photos and illustrations from Gatewood students below! This is a great example of how CTE classes build connections and give students a sense of ownership over curriculum.
Nathan Hale CTSO Highlights Work from 22-23, Recruits for 23-24
Nathan Hale students’ Career and Technical Student Organization Technical Studies Association has put their award-winning food fight game from last academic year on proud display! October is CTE’s CTSO month. We encourage you to check out CTSOs at your school and get involved in student leadership this fall!
Chief Sealth Brings 50 Guest Speakers to Career Day
Ms. Temple and Ms. Filley-Bentler at Chief Sealth International High School organized a massive career speaker and fair day! Every 2nd period class in the school was visited by a career speaker ranging from cybersecurity experts to firefighters and dental hygienists. After listening to the speakers, students came to the library for a massive career fair, with over 40 visiting organizations.
Roosevelt High School Business Students Enjoy Guest Speakers
Roosevelt students have been enjoying business guest speakers as they settle back in to school! In Mr. McGinn’s business and Ms. Carter’s marketing and DECA students got to hear from Due Cucina co-founder Filippo Fiori. Filippo kindly offered $8 bowls of pasta to RHS students who show their school ID through October 15! Ms. Carter’s Business Management and Law students heard from doctoral candidate and business owner Nina Vizcarrondo of Advertly.com. She was recently featured in Seattle Met magazine as one of the “women who move Seattle”.
Skills Center Media Arts Students Get Ready for Spooky Season
Seattle Skills Center students focused on colors and shapes to connote fear before bringing their skills to Adobe Suite. Check out their work with CTE Teacher Reed Forrester below!
Career Quest Interns at SPSTV Show their work!
Interns at SPSTV this summer got practice using complex cameras and audio recording equipment with mentorship from SPSTV Manager, Edgar Riebe. Check out their work below! Learn more about Career Quest and browse worksite learning and school year internship opportunities.
Meany Middle School Students Design Apps for Good
Teams of 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students at Meany Middle School teamed up to design and present community-based applications to a panel of Amazon Web Services judges. Students designed apps including: multilingual apps to help families better utilize Seattle Parks, a sports training app, and a fitness app!
SPS Students and Alumni at Jet Blast Bash
SPS students and alumni working at c89.5 broadcasted live from Jet Blast Bash at Museum of Flight this weekend! They helped work the booth, interacted with audience members, and more!
Seattle Skills Center Wraps Up Summer Classes
Over 350 students spent their summers earning CTE credit at various Seattle Skills Center classes! Students cooked delicacies and built tiny homes at Chief Sealth, explored Puget Sound and the Salish Sea for Maritime Vessel Operations, welded infinity cubes for Manufacturing, explored trades with Career Choices, developed video games at Seattle World School, perfected beats at Roosevelt, and explored medical careers at Lincoln. Congratulations to all of our students and huge thank you to all Skills Center teachers for their hard work and dedication.
Ballard High School Oceanography Students Visit Maui – Happy Summer Vacation!
Sending everyone off to summer vacation with a throw-back! Thirty-four Ballard High Oceanography Students went on a 13-day Maui, Hawaii adventure in February 2023. In Maui they did service learning projects, kept a journal and interacted with Ocean professionals. For many of them, this was one of the most fulfilling experiences of their academic career. They all gained vast field experience not available in the classroom.
Wishing everyone a safe, restful, and sun-filled summer!
Chief Sealth Students Visit Bellevue Police Headquarters
Led by Career Connected learning Coordinators Mr. Camacho and Ms. Filley-Bentler, Chief Sealth Students participated in a job shadow organized by WABS (Washington Alliance for Better Schools). Students did a forensic workshop, learned about equipment and much more.
Garfield Students Bring Home Microsoft Prizes
With CTE Teacher Mr. Bergquist, two of the Garfield AP Computer Science teams won prizes during a field trip competition to Microsoft. After a long hiatus in field trips, this was many of the students very first high school field trip. Team Logan won the Best Implementation Prize for a detective game design seeking out a killer. Team Spirited Away was voted a Crowd Favorite with a game that involved navigating a bath house in the team’s eponymous movie. Congrats to all!
Ballard Students Recognized at Northwest High School Film Festival
Ballard HS students cleaned up at the 20th Annual Northwest High School Film Festival. Led by CTE Teacher Mr. Bradford, students took their first field trip in 4 years to the festival where they got to watch winning entries from 24 schools around the Puget Sound region. Student awards include:
- Award of Excellence (1)
- Honorable Mentions (6)
Four students were nominated for the NW Regional Emmy Awards. Congratulations to Mr. Bradford and his students! Learn more about the festival.
Video Game Animation Students Earn Unity Certificate at Ballard, Lincoln, and Skills Center
Mr. Bubb, Mr. Legus, and Mr. Fisher from Lincoln, Ballard, and Skills Center, respectively, had huge success with students passing the Unity Test. These students earned an industry-recognized certificate (IRC) that is critical to continuing their video game design careers. Huge congratulations to these 65 students and to their teachers on this awesome accomplishment. Below are images of Ballard students with their certificates, hard at work, and stills from the games they’ve designed.
Franklin Students Stop the Bleed and Learn Lung Care
CTE Teacher at Franklin, Ms. Flake invited Dr. Hatch from Madigan to instruct students in stopping serious bleeds using tourniquets.
Students also got to view a lung demonstration with Drs. Sata and Thomas of Kaiser Washington. Hands on learning that helps students clarify their career paths and prepare for post-secondary training in Medical fields is so important. Thank you to Ms. Flake for organizing these events!
Skills Center Automotive Students at West Seattle High School Get to Work!
Students at Seattle Skills Center at West Seattle High School got to work upgrading cam shafts and doing an oil change on CTE Teacher, Ms. Thomas’ car. The group is gearing up for the second annual Car Show in West Seattle, happening June 17 from 12PM-3PM at 3000 California Ave SW. Roll up for food and to celebrate the achievements of Ms. Thomas and her students!
Media Arts Skills Center Students Pay a Visit to SPSTV
Seattle Skills Center Media Arts students brought their skills to industry in a visit to Seattle Public Schools TV studio. Thanks to CTE Teacher Reed Forrester for creating this opportunity for students and thanks to Edgar Riebe for hosting!
Ingraham HS Students Partner with Toys that Make Smiles
Ingraham FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) has partnered with Toys that Make Smiles to provide students with a meaningful and important volunteer experience. Toys that Make Smiles provides supplies and equipment for students in this CTSO to build toys that will be donated to Seattle Children’s Hospital, Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital and Ronald McDonald House. During this session, students made a squadron of airplanes to bring joy to children under difficult circumstances. Thank you to CTE Teacher Jessica Vander Pol for organizing this uplifting community service event!
Advanced Photography Class from Roosevelt visits Seattle Art Museum
CTE Teacher Laura Anders brought her wonderful advanced photo students on a field to the Seattle Art Museum. After checking out the art work, they got a street photography lesson from a local photographer working in industry. Students made thoughtful observations on the artwork and did an incredible job of applying their new learning in the field!
Rainier Beach High School Career Fair – Fun in the Sun
Career Connected Learning Coordinator Mr. Bolan organized a massive outdoor career fair for Rainier Beach HS students. Seattle Public Utilities, AJAC, Sound Transit, and more showed up to share opportunities with the Rainier Beach Community. Thank you to Mr. Bolan for organizing this incredible opportunity!
All (Masked) Smiles at Swedish Cherry Hill Hospital
CTE Teacher Ms. Pinera from Skills Center at Franklin High School has spent the last quarter setting up and supervising student clinical experiences at Swedish Cherry Hill. Students shadow nurses, assist nursing assistants, and earn clinical hours required to take the Certified Nursing Assistant exam. Below is a photo she shared of her Nursing Assisting Students on their first day of clinical.
All Aboard! Ballard Students Spend the Day on Virginia V
CTE Teacher Mr. Foster organized a maritime field trip aboard the steamship Virginia V. Students enjoyed a beautiful day on Lake Washington, applying many of the skills they learned in their maritime class on the water. Students rotated through watch stations in the wheelhouse, engine room, and firefighting. They also got to do a bit of MOB/Line handling, navigation, and charting.
Medical Assisting Students from Skills Center Volunteer at Swedish Clinical Locations
Medical Assisting Skills Center students are taking their knowledge and skills to the community, working as volunteers at various Swedish medical sites. Students are spending 8 weeks at their clinical sites, where they assist with office operations, take blood pressure, shadow medical assistants and medical office assistants and much more. Thank you to Swedish for hosting our students!
Culinary Students at Roosevelt Serve Delicious Burgers
Led by CTE Teacher/Chef Kim Smith, Students made their own brioche buns and experimented with brisket burgers and ground beef patties. They learned how to ground and season meat and finished it up with sea Salt, julienne cuts of onions. They twice-fried their french fries and created a delicious meal that rivals meals of surrounding restaurants. Delicious!
Chief Sealth Students Visit Trades Fair
Students from Chief Sealth visited the 42nd Annual Trades Fair held hosted by Washington Women In Trades. Students learned about trades and apprenticeships and enjoyed hands-on learning experiences. Trades are experiencing a huge shortfall in labor, and the class of 2025 and beyond will have ample opportunities to earn family-wage jobs in these fields. Thanks to Career Connected Learning Coordinator Ms. Filley-Bentler and all of the teachers and chaperones that made this trip happen.
Garfield HS visits Portland State University to Learn about LSAMP Opportunities
A group of Garfield students trekked south down I-5 to visit Portland State University and learn about LSAMP, Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, which supports success of students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in STEM . LSAMP’s goal is to help underrepresented students complete paid internships and bachelor’s degrees in STEM, while providing exposure to mentorship and high-wage employment opportunities post-graduation. Many thanks to Career Connected Learning Coordinator and CTE Teacher, Ms. Bigham, for organizing!
Roosevelt CTE Students Visit UW Law School for Mock Trial
James Moser and Michelle Carter took a group of students from Mr. Moser’s Business Law class to do a mock trial. Mr. Moser coordinated closely with UW Law students and processors to get students trained on trial practices and procedures. Hands on, site-based learning experiences like these help students imagine themselves in law school in a very meaningful way. Thank you to Mr. Moser, Ms. Carter, and UW School of Law for this exciting opportunity!
Skills Center and Construction Students at Ingraham High School Build Tiny Homes for Low Income Housing Institute (LIHI)
CTE Teacher Mike Wetzel’s Construction and Skills Center students (around 30 students total working on each hours) collaborated to construct two tiny homes that will be donated to LIHI to help house people in need. The houses are being shipped to a storage lot and will be moved to a tiny home village somewhere in the city.
He expects to have another tiny home ready to donate in a couple of weeks and two more by the end of the school year. While always striving to do good work, Mike’s class is putting a little extra effort into the last house. This is Mike’s last year teaching these classes and wants to finish on a high note. Huge thank you to Mike for all of his work with Skills Center students!
Garfield Students Get Ready for Summer
Career Connected Learning Coordinator and CTE Teacher Tiffany Bigham organized a Summer Opportunity Fair for students at Garfield High School. Hundreds gathered to browse internships, job and volunteer opportunities during lunch period. Looking for an internship for yourself or your student? Check out our internship directory!
Seven students from Chief Sealth, Cleveland, Franklin, Garfield, and Ballard High Schools Win $40,000 Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship
Students were called to Amazon Skills Center under guise of a Computer Science panel and were surprised with the announcement that they had won the AFE Scholarship. Through AFE, they will get $10,000 per year towards tuition and an internship at Amazon after their first year of college. We are so proud of our students for this prestigious achievement! Congratulations to Sahra Mohamad, Chelsea Li, Vicente Anyaegbu, Belinda Zhong, Nat Wetzel, Daniel Alemayehu, and Arni Hoang!
Skills Center Construction Students at Wood Tech Center Get to Work on Tiny Home
Students in CTE Teacher Jen Raine’s class were hard at work framing and planning for wiring and piping in a tiny home that will be donated to a homeless community. Learn more about Skills Center and sign up for a fall or summer class at the Skills Center website!
Roosevelt High School Students Enjoy Riveting Guest Speaker Presentation
Roosevelt High School CTE Teacher Michelle Carter arranged for Marketing students to hear from Jenn Day, the Senior Vice President at Vimeo. Students learned a lot from the presentation, leaving with a lot of food for thought about their career paths.
Franklin High School Students Learn About Health Care Careers!
Franklin HS students went on a field trip organized by CTE Teacher Morgan Flake to the Sound Careers in Health Care Event (HILT). Students learned about health care related careers that they might not have heard of before, got to engage with and ask questions of a diverse group of health care professionals, and expanded their healthcare knowledge.
WTSA 2023 A Success for SPS Students!
Two Seattle Public School students earned second Place in the Game Board Design competition at this year’s Technology Student Association State Conference, held this past weekend. One of the student’s design for the Washington State TSA pin won and has been manufactured. Pictured below are the winning pin and the runner-up board game.
Students from Ingraham and Nathan Hale are Headed to FCCLA National Competition
Huge congratulations to Nathan Hale and Ingraham High School students for making it to the National Competition for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) competitions. Students qualified for the culinary event (pictured below) and a sustainability challenge. Congratulations to the students and CTE Teachers Annemarie Pulmpe and Jessica Vander Pol!
Ballard and Nathan Hale Students Lead Seed Planting and Pollination Event at Farmers Market
CTE Teacher India Carlson has been working with the Seattle Farmers Market Association to connect farmers and educate the public about how food is grown. Students from her class joined her at the Ballard Farmers Market to lead a seed planting event and educate the public about pollination processes. They created a zine outlining the pollination process to share with farmers market attendees, a snapshot of which can be found below.
Pre-Apprenticeship Students Flag and Use Forklift at Grocery Giveaway
Interagency High School hosted a Grocery Giveaway event. A student signed up to use our class room forklift and the certification that he earned last year the Construction Pre-Apprenticeship to unload the semi-truck, which delivered 29 pallets of food to our school parking lot. The student earned Service Learning Hours required for graduation, while getting great practice on the equipment. He was assisted by a Flagger/ ground Guide fellow Pre-Apprenticeship student.
Skills Center Maritime Vessel Operations Students Practice Power Cleaning
CTE Teacher Scott Melander shared some fun photographs of his students learning how to keep a ship ship-shape using power hoses. His class, Maritime Vessel Operations, is currently accepting applications for the 2023-2024 Academic Year.
West Seattle Culinary Students Wow Families with Baked Goods at Event
Raya Klein, CTE teacher from West Seattle High School led an extended learning event for students in her culinary program. Her culinary students prepared and served a buffet meal at the big band event!
Franklin and Cleveland Students Compete at the Glacier Peak FIRST Robotics
Team XBOT from Franklin and Cleveland high schools competed at the Glacier Peak FIRST Robotics event. Team XBOT finished 3rd out of 34 teams, earning semifinalist status. Next up: the Sammamish HS/Bellevue WA event in late March. Thanks to CTE Teacher Donna Lew for sharing.
Ballard Students bring Valentine’s Day Cheer to Retirement Community
In February the Ballard FCCLA students created Valentine cards to give to residents at Loyal Heights Manor, a local retirement facility. Students decided what would go on the cards, cut out heart shapes, glued the hearts and bows on construction paper, and signed the cards. The FCCLA students wanted to brighten the residents Valentine’s Day with the hand made cards.
11th Graders from All Over the District Visit T-Mobile to Learn About the Explorer Prep Program
CTE Teacher Katherine Meyer set up a booth for SPS students interested in pursuing the T-Mobile Explorer Prep Program at T-Mobile world headquarters in Bellevue last week. Students in Explorer Prep participate in a full-time paid internship during the summer after their 11th grade year and the summer after their 12th grade years. They take Running Start classes during their 12th grade year and spend one year after high school completing a certificate in Cybersecurity, User Experience, or Software Development before interviewing for a full-time tech job at T-Mobile. Learn more about the Explorer Prep, a unique program.
Franklin High School Seniors Browse their College and Career Options
During this CTE Month Franklin High School hosted a career and college fair to help students begin to imagine life after high school! College prep and career prep are inextricably linked!
Interagency Students in Pre-Apprenticeship Programs Show their Skills
Students in the Interagency Pre-Apprenticeship and Building Trades Program, weld frame, operate gantry cranes, and more. A Class of 2022 graduate completed an SPS Project Internship building out the Lincoln High School Gym.
Looking to get connected to a career in the building trades? Learn more on the Interagency website!
Roosevelt Business and Marketing Students Celebrate CTE and Black History Month
Students in Michele Carter’s Business and Marketing classes created posters sharing information about successful Black business persons to decorate their classroom. CTE celebrates Black History Month by honoring the past and looking towards the future– Black Excellence in industry, tech, medicine, design, and all possible career paths.
Skills Center Nursing Assisting Program Field trip to Swedish Cherry Hill
Future Nurses and Nursing Assistants visited Swedish Cherry Hill with their Skills Center class, led by CTE Teacher Virginia Pinera. Student toured the hospital and learned about the wide variety of careers available at Swedish and in Health Care systems all over the country.
Rainier Beach and Franklin High School Field Trip to Harborview Injury Prevention Research Center
The HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) clubs from Rainier Beach and Franklin High School visited Harborview’s Injury Prevention Research Center where they learned more about injury and violence prevention careers.
Students participated in a mock crisis scenario, and were taught the steps taken at a hospital and trauma center to rehabilitate a gunshot wound patient. Read more about their informational and inspiring visit on the HIPRC Blog. Thanks to CTE Teacher Morgan Flake for sharing!
Seattle Skills Center Maritime Vessel Operations Rowing
Seattle Skills Center’s Maritime Vessel Operations class spent a clear February day out on the water at Seattle Maritime Academy. Students in the Skills Center Maritime Program learn navigation, tides, currents, boat handling, knots, safety, communications, radar, meteorology, tool use, and marine engine maintenance and repair. The faces may be blurred, but smiles abound!
Chief Sealth High School Field trip to Amazon Skills Center
Career Connected Learning Coordinator Linda Filley-Bentler led her class on a half day trip to Amazon Skills Center. On the trip, students attended workshops, learned about engineers’ career journeys and participated in coding activities.
Alan T. Sugiyama STEM and Parenting Resource Library
Valentina Visscher, Parent Education Lab Coordinator at Alan T. Sugiyama received a grant last year from Washington State School Retirees to purchase books for infants and toddlers on Diversity and STEM. For CTE Month, she shared images of the Diversity and STEM collection that she put on display in the Parent Education Lab. The Parent Education Lab is part of the CTE GRADS Program, an in-school childcare for teen parents. Watch a video on PE.
Roosevelt High School Business Management Students in Mock Interviews
CTE Teacher Michelle Carter from Roosevelt High School had students in her Business Management B class lead mock interviews for students in Business Management A as part of their final exam. Peer-to-peer learning opportunities and networking skills are vital for students planning for life after high school, college, and beyond.
