Students at the Carbon Career & Technical Institute in Jim Thorpe started classes on Wednesday, Aug. 24. Principal Michelle Allen said the school has 175 new students enrolled.

Of the 14 areas of study offered by CCTI, the drafting and HVAC Departments still have some openings. The rest of the programs are filled with wait lists. In addition, the school has five new teachers, two new instructional aides, and two building subs starting this year, including Allen herself, having been hired this past March.

“I’m excited for the first day of my first full year as the new principal at CCTI,” Allen said.

Allen spoke at a recent CCTI Joint Operating Committee meeting and said that the new teacher induction program was successful.

“This came from the feedback we received from the attendees,” Allen told the committee. “Our new teachers and their mentors met for two days with the administration team, reviewing policies and procedures while introducing them to our school and the layout of our facility. The newly-passed three-year mentor program was reviewed and will now be a part of our future ‘New Teacher Induction Program.’”

Upcoming events

Brent Borzak, administrative director for CCTI, spoke to the Joint Operating Committee about an event this fall.

“One of the things we talked about is opening the school up to the community, “Borzak said. “We want to build better relationships with the community. We’re out of COVID now, so let’s get the building open now.”

The school will hold a CCTI Fall Festival Craft & Vendor Event on Oct. 22 at 8 a.m. and will include food trucks and activities for children, and a car show that begins at 10 a.m., and raffles. Funds will go toward student activities, and some donations will be given to some local nonprofit groups.

“It’s a nice kickoff for the fall, and will tie in with the Fall Foliage Festival in downtown Jim Thorpe. A lot of vendors are interested.”

Goals outlined

Borzak also discussed the goals that CCTI has for the school year.

• Focus on student, staff, and schoolwide safety, security, and wellness.

• Provide new clubs and organizations for students to participate and be active in.

• Host/Participate in opportunities and experiences for our students, such as new competitions, class events, and social events.

• Address student learning loss and social emotional issues.

• Participate/Support community events and host school wide/community events at CCTI.

• Increase student certifications in all technical program areas.

• Focus on an overall improvement in written and performance test scores in academic and technical areas.

• Provide continued opportunities for school-to-work experiences, job shadows, internships, presentations, panel discussions, and other employment exploration activities, and post graduate involvement.

• Update and utilize all forms of technology throughout the school system.

• Increase recruitment initiatives and promotion of CCTI in the community and the participating school districts.

• Start a new CTE program at CTE for the 2023-2024 school year.

• Complete CCTI’s comprehensive plan, induction/Act 48/Program Development plans.