LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) – Some students at Long Beach High School are eager to earn their diplomas and get to work. Doing that will be easier now thanks to a new Career and Technical Education center.
Engineering, welding, auto mechanics, health sciences, and construction are the different fields for students to pursue. Engineering was already offered at the high school, but will now join the other new programs at the CTE campus.
“They should be able to leave here with certificates that get them a very high-paying job right out of high school,” says CTE Director Patrick Bennett.
“Just to get out of high school and have a job ready to go, it’s just amazing,” says LBHS junior Walker Cook.
The brand-new CTE center is made up of several shop spaces with all of the equipment and technology needed to educate students beyond traditional academics.
The groundbreaking for the building was in 2023, but the idea of something like this has been in the works for around 3 years.
“Our state is actually moving in a direction where they are placing more emphasis on workforce development, and it’s headed in a great direction. Before, it was just a lot of emphasis on college readiness,” says LBSD Superintendent Talia Lock.
As far as hands-on work goes, that gets started when safety training is complete.
Each program lasts 2 years. That means there’s plenty of time for students to take advantage of the new space and explore futures outside of a standard 4-year university.
“A lot of kids are like, this is exactly what I need to be doing,” Bennett says.
“I think it’s great to give kids the opportunity to be more hands-on and work in these types of trades, and just set up better for their future,” Cook says.
On Saturday at 9 a.m., a standing-room-only crowd gathered for the center’s ribbon-cutting ceremony and guest speakers.
“[It gives] kids an opportunity on doing a lot more hands-on stuff because the fact that a lot of kids these days can’t really go and focus normally in a classroom,” said LBHS senior Jarin Shockley.
Each year, about 70 kids are expected to complete and graduate from the new CTE programs.
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