Families filled the Center for Career Services campus on Thursday, Oct. 8, for the annual Open House and Back to School Night. Several visitors came to see where their students spend their days engaged in hands-on learning.
Culinary Arts students prepared and served dinner to start the evening. Parents then headed to classrooms across campus, where each of the Center's 22 Career and Technical Education programs showed what students will learn this year.
Some visitors made a stop at the newest addition, Pathways in Education. Instructor Ann LoBosco, who joined the Center this summer with 25 years of experience as an educator, designed the two-year curriculum from scratch. She walked parents through the program, which introduces students to the many roles that shape a school, including teachers, counselors, and administrators.
Across campus, HVAC instructor Moises Robles gave parents a tour of his new classroom, showing how the space is set up for hands-on learning. He explained how students will build skills in the room through the year, the second for the new program — including both the technical and interpersonal skills required in the field.
Other programs throughout campus also put student work and skills on display. Fashion Design & Merchandising teacher Carmen Galiano played a video from the spring fashion show. Cosmetology and Barbering students put their skills on display on mannequins at their workstations; Cosmetology students presented makeup looks and hairstyles, while Barbering students showcased haircut designs.
In the Emergency Medical Services classroom, students demonstrated skills they've already learned, including how to clear a patient’s airway. Audio Production and Advertising & Graphic Design students logged into their workstations to share projects from the first weeks of school. Nearby, Welding instructor Peter Campbell had dozens of welds executed by his students on display.
Parents also had the opportunity to meet with counselors and support staff to learn more about the Center's articulation agreements, which let students earn college credit while completing their CTE programs, or ask questions about future possibilities.
The strong turnout reflected families' support for the career-focused education at the heart of the Center for Career Services.
“Our campus very busy tonight,” Principal Jaclyn De Lao said. “Our enrollment has increased by 100 more students this year, so there’s a lot of interest and a lot of excitement about our programs.”