CTE Summer Camp Entertains and Educates Local Kids

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With twice as many class offerings and twice as many slots filled in its now-annual CTE Summer Camp, the Clare-Gladwin Career & Technical Education program answered the challenge, delivering entertaining, educational glimpses into potential careers for kids from Clare, Beaverton, Farwell, Harrison and Gladwin.

Food and kitchen safety were at the top of a long list of menu
items for students in the Culinary Arts class. (They also did a
fair amount of taste testing.)

Criminal Justice students learned about traffic stops, crime scene
investigation and evidence gathering.

The summer camp, which started last year with four different classes and about 30 participants, doubled those numbers this year, offering local students in grades 7 through 10 the chance to learn about careers in Construction Trades, Culinary Arts, Criminal Justice, Digital Media, Automotive Technology, Caring for Children, Doodles to Design and Creative Engineering.

Automotive Technology students learned many basics of vehicle maintenance, including oil changes and proper tire inflation.

Participants in the Construction Trades group created garden
sprinklers to take home.

“We’re excited to see so many of our local students and parents interested in the CTE program,” said Sheryl Presler, Superintendent of the Clare-Gladwin Regional Education Service District, which operates the CTE program. “Our instructors worked hard to come up with interesting, challenging ways to introduce the kids to all these potential career paths, and based on the feedback, that work paid off, because the kids loved the camp.”

In the Doodles to Design class, participants sketched out their ideas
and then brought them to life with 3-D Design Pens.

Presler was quick to express appreciation to the Gladwin County Community Foundation, which provides philanthropic leadership to strengthen the community by fostering and giving today and in the future. The foundation provided a grant worth $1,400 toward supplies for the camp. She also recognized other collaborators who helped make the camp a success, including Mid Michigan Community College, Clare County Transit, the Clare County Sheriff’s Department and Chartwells Food Service.

In the Digital Media class, students first designed their projects on paper, then took them digital, creating soundtracks and adding animation.

“The CTE program is, at its core, about community participation,” Presler said. “We train young people to help ensure they have a set of solid work skills for the next step after high school, whether it’s for college, the local workforce or both. It’s a reciprocal relationship between educators, parents, local employers and community stakeholders, and it’s gratifying to see what we can do working together.”

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