Career & Technical Education for Franklin County

Interviewer: John Courtney Interviewee: Jim Duffy (Program Director)

1. Could you give me a quick rundown of the basic profile for the Career &
Technical Center? What services are offered? How many students do you
have? What school districts do you service? What is your current poverty
rate & ethnicity percentage?
There are 23 programs within 5 different academies. Currently we have about 940
students. Next year it will be about 1,040 students. Each year continues to grow.
They are on half-semester schedules where they complete all career activities for
half of the semester activities then switch for the other half. There are 5
participating school districts Waynesboro, Shippensburg, Chambersburg,
Greencastle, and partially Fannett Metal. Fannett Metal used to be a large
contributor but didnt agree with the renovation of one of the buildings so now they
only send about 10 students. Gettysburg and Fairfield used to participate but dont
any more.
2. How does the Career & Technical Center work with the community in
providing job training for students?
Cooperative education program and students who are considered the top 10% get
to go out into industry and work in the field. NOTCE is like a keystone exam that
students must complete. We have a good partnership with Meadow Haven where
students can spend time there shadowing and doing basic health care functions as
early at 10th grade and by their senior year they get certified as a health
professional. Volvo is another big partnership.
Twice a year people come in from industries and sit on committees and discuss with
the educators what type of training is needed. One example is a smaller x-ray
system for dental hygienists.
3. Do you find that the jobs students are trained for are locally in high
demand? If so, what percentage of graduates receive jobs upon finishing
their programs at the center?
Any programs that they offer are on the high priority occupation list. Each area
has its own list of occupations that are on that list. The only exception is
cosmetology. 35% of students go on to some sort of post-secondary school
(typically a technical school). The center has what is called articulation agreements
where they can earn credits at the career school and continue into college to help
with those who choose that path. The rest about 50% go into the work place. We
still arent sure if their jobs are in their field of study at the school or if they are
getting jobs outside of their field of study. The other part of the school population
usually chooses to enter the military.
4. Do the districts that work in collaboration with you support or hinder
your efforts to expand or accomplish your center goals? What specific

actions offer support or, in contrast, what actions hinder the effectiveness
of the program?
Special education situations are tough. Certain special education departments are
supportive and other arent. For example, some schools dont even offer IEPs to the
program. Other schools are supportive and invite our staff members to the IEP
meetings. Also, some districts wont allow alternative placement back into regular
ed. In circumstances where behavior is bad or something just isnt working.

5. What is something a building principal at the high-school level can do to

help the Career & Technical Center?
A lot of the kids want to come here. Use the incentives from Career & Ed Tech to
help with regular academic performance. Every student is interviewed and ranked
and if they want a program that is popular they may not get it based on their
ranking.
6. What are ways elementary schools can work in collaboration with the
Career & Tech Center to support the goals and efforts of the center?
339 K-12 career education planning. Our program is planning on being more out
into the elementary. We want to go out into the 5 th grade with that they call road
shows to get some exposure and help kids understand career & tech.
The real benefit is to educate students and parents In order to shift the ideal that
everyone must go to college.
7. Is there anything you would like building administrators to know
regarding your program?
There are a series of videos that they our program will be handing out on thumb
drives that teachers can use for career education awareness. Regular education
teachers are going to be required to teach career & tech education. Our program
can be a resource for teaching those topics.
8. How does the local, state, and federal government play a role in the
education centers funding? Have you noticed any movement or shift in
support from these entities in the past 3 years?
80% of funding comes from local school districts. 10% to 15% come from state
sources and 5% from federal sources. Grant opportunities have dried up.
8. Any questions or comments for me?
Look through the information in our brochure if you have any additional questions.