Career & Technical Education
Hundreds of thousands of North Carolina young people get their start each year in exciting and rewarding careers through secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. Whether students plan to further their education in community colleges, technical schools, or four-year colleges and universities, receive on-the-job training, or pursue careers in the military, secondary CTE can be the first step in a pathway toward productive employment and citizenship.
Programs in Career and Technical Education are designed to contribute to the broad educational achievement of students, including basic skills such as reading, writing and mathematics, as well as their ability to work independently and as part of a team, think creatively and solve problems, and utilize technology.
Program Areas
LCPS offers middle and high schools students CTE instruction in a dozen different program areas, from agriculture to engineering. More information on each program area is here.
Job Shadowing
Business and industry in the Kinston-Lenoir County area provide CTE students a valuable connection to specific jobs and career skills when they team up with LCPS for its job shadowing program. Whether students' interests tend toward health care or retail, cosmetology or construction, they can spend time on the job gaining insight and experience.
CTE Student Organizations
CTE student organizations provide CTE students opportunities for personal growth, leadership development and career preparation. The bonus is the students make new friends and have a lot of fun along the way. LCPS encourages and supports students activities in FBLA, FFA, HOSA and other CTE student organizations. More information on those groups, along with links to state and national websites, are here.
WorkKeys Testing
WorkKeys is an ACT assessment which is administered to all North Carolina 12th grade CTE completers. A CTE completer is a student who has taken at least four courses in a Career Cluster. WorkKeys test measure “real world” skills that are critical to job success. These skills are essential to any occupation, skilled or professional, at any level of education and in any industry. CTE Completers take the following three WorkKeys test:
- Reading for Information
- Applied Mathematics
- Locating Information
By taking the WorkKeys tests, students can earn a State Career Readiness Certificate (CRC), as well as a National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC). CRC’s and NCRC’s are awarded at four different levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. For questions on whether your child is eligible to take the WorkKeys test, please contact your school counselor.
Click this link to access WorkKeys practice items: WorkKeys Test Preparation
Click this link to register your WorkKeys certificate in the NCWorks system: NCRC Registration Procedures
Click this link to learn how to register your WorkKeys certificate in the ACT System: ACT WorkKeys Create Account
CTE Local Plan
Lenoir County Public Schools and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) across the state use the Local Planning System (LPS) for strategic planning, managing performance, and being accountable for CTE at local, state, and federal levels. The LPS has transformed from being a mechanism for approval and release of state and federal CTE funds to one for strategic planning, improving performance, and assuring accountability. Local plans must outline strategies for continuous improvement of results of their students on performance indicators. These results are reported for each LEA overall, by No Child Left Behind subgroups and academic disadvantage, by program areas and career clusters, and by College Tech Prep. Administrators in each LEA must develop strategies to address improvement of performance by each reported category.
LCPS incorporates the requirements of all applicable state and federal laws which govern CTE in North Carolina. CTE regional coordinators located throughout the state can work online with local CTE administrators to examine, correct, and approve what each LEA in its respective region proposes.