Career and Technical Education (CTE) is part of an initiative under the Division of Academic and Technical Education (DATE) under the United States Department of Education that “is responsible for helping all students acquire challenging academic, technical, and employability skills to succeed in postsecondary education and in-demand careers.”

Now, Nederland Middle-Senior High School (NMSHS) has its own CTE classes, designed for students to get a leg up on other students by giving them useful career skills that will help them towards getting a college degree.

Among the classes being taught this year are: Colorado 14ers; Backpacking (both taught by Theresa Redmon); Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Systems; Construction; Woodworking (all taught by Mark Mabbett); AP Environmental Science; Principles of Natural Resource Management (both taught by Mariah Colton); Snow Science (taught by Dan Wade); and the middle school course Challenge and Adventure (taught by Kira Badyrka).

The program was first implemented while Rick Elertson was principal at NMSHS. Last year, Mabbett taught an architecture class and Colton taught Fish and Wildlife, among other experimental classes. To begin the process the school had to get the courses approved by the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) and by CTE and the teachers had to get their CTE certifications.

Before the program was implemented, Redmon had no idea that along with technical classes, there were also options for classes that utilized the outdoors. Her dream when she first arrived as a teacher was to have outdoor PE classes, and when Elertson told her that outdoor activities were an option as classes for the program, she immediately jumped on the opportunity.

Colton has a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from Western Washington University, where she decided to go into teaching. When Elertson offered the idea to “bridge our curriculum and education to the outdoors,” she knew she wanted to be a part of the program.

Mabbett believes that it’s important to get this education at the high school level because of a potentially huge influx of people working in the carpentry, electrical, and plumbing fields that are typically sent to a four-year college before they decide that they want that kind of career.

Redmon also believes that these programs will be helpful in regard to student retention at NMSHS. As the school has gotten smaller, she believes it’s important to advertise programs that are not utilized in the majority of BVSD schools, thus attracting more students from down below as well as retaining current students with the program.

Redmon loves the opportunity to teach outdoor classes that allow her to get outside the school and stop staring at a computer screen for a couple of hours to show kids the beauty of the mountainous environment that they live in and allow them to focus on something other than technology.

Mabbett and Redmon believe that these courses provide useful information that students will actually want to retain. Many students seem to wonder what the point of learning certain material is because they are not interested in pursuing a career in mathematics or science or literature. With courses that provide exposure to life skills that students can use as adults, students can find reasons to connect the material to their realworld experiences like never before and can gain more experience before getting into college.

Colton is excited for these courses not only because they can help build career skills but also because they can give in-depth background in science that many high school students do not get the opportunity to experience.

Last year, Colton had the opportunity to teach Forestry online, and while usually online classes would be seen as a drag, this class actually benefited from being digital. Students could share what their own forest was like, experience their backyards in a way they never had before, encourage them to go outside during this isolated time, and create a more diverse picture of what forests look like across the areas that BVSD services.

Colton is excited to partner with community services such as Wild Bear and Eldora to create extended opportunities for students outside of school grounds and loves seeing the students actually enjoying the classes and getting more background experience in science from them.

The CTE program at NMSHS is, as of now, an experiment. It’s a chance for teachers and students to try out new career-building classes that will hopefully allow Nederland to stand out from other BVSD schools. Ms. Redmon hopes that by next year or the year after, the programs will really be able to shine and the students will be able to take away memories from high school that they will never forget.