CTE teachers and students don't take a break in the summer! As we head back into the classroom, check out CTE's Summer Adventures!

JUNE 17-20

We appreciate all of the teachers and community partners for helping make Camp Opportunity a success. 105 middle school students attended a variety of sessions over the course of 4 days. Check out session photos below!

June 17-21

Teacher, Charles Autrey took students for a week of firefighting training. Along with skill training and hot temperatures, our students created new relationships with high school students across the state.

June 30-July 2

Foothills Community School made quite the debut at the FBLA National Conference in Orlando, Florida. They achieved 10th place in Annual Chapter Activities, 6th in Running an Effective Meeting, and 4th in Mission and Pledge. Congratulations to Elena Gonzalez, Kassandra Perez, Neil LaFountain, and Hadley Davis.

July 14-18

CTE teachers attended the CTE Summer Conference in Winston Salem. Several staff presented at the conference, sharing our world class CTE program with North Carolina CTE educators.

Mindy Hutchins, Middle School Career Development Coordinator presented to North Carolina CDC's, showcasing 5th Grade Career Fair, Careers on Wheels, and CARP.

Courtney Intres, FBLA advisor & Entrepreneur teacher presented to CTE teachers across North Carolina sharing our school-based enterprise, the Moxy Boutique.

CTE Director, Mary Finley hosted a Roundtable Session about McDowell County's 5th Grade Career Fair

Kendall Waugh, McDowell High School Career Development Coordinator hosted a Roundtable Session about The CTE Bookshelf - a Virtual CTE Classroom Project

Middle school CTE teachers attended the Paxton/Patterson Learning Systems - College & Career Ready Labs training! We are excited to implement this for the 2024-25 school year.

Day 1 of Inferno Fire Camp was a huge success! Students visited the Marion Fire Department, where they tried on turnout gear, used a fire hose, practiced with the Jaws of Life, and learned about different fire apparatuses and the equipment they carry. Students also visited and learned about the McDowell County 911 / Emergency Management, where they saw telecommunicators doing their jobs during a very busy period. Students also enjoyed a visit from MAMA - Mountain Area Medical Airlift, where they had a personal tour of the helicopter and its equipment

Students enjoyed a visit from the Asheville Fire Department HazMat Regional Response Team. Students also participated in a HazMat decontamination. The hazardous material was chocolate syrup. Students visited the McDowell County EMS headquarters this afternoon and learned about CPR and first aid.

Personnel from the N.C. Forest Service and Lake James State Park educated students about wildland fires, including techniques for fighting and extinguishing them. The students then visited the Nebo Volunteer Fire Department and saw their new fire boat! Thank you, Michelle Baker from McDowell County Schools and Karen Boyles from our regional CTE/DPI, for visiting.

Students learned about the science of fire and fire behavior. They practiced putting out diesel fuel fires with ABC dry chemical extinguishers. They enjoyed water activities in the afternoon at the McDowell Fire & Rescue Association training facility. At the end of the day, students received challenge coins from the McDowell H.S. Public Safety Academy

August 5-8

McDowell County CTE partnered with the Marion Police Department, McDowell County Sheriff's Department, NC State Highway Patrol, and Booze It or Lose It to host our Second Annual Criminal Justice Youth Leadership Camp.

Our CJ Youth Leaders experienced DUI detection and processing with Mr. Greene of the NCDHHS, subject control and arrest techniques with Mr. Marsh, and Stop the Bleed training with Mr. Autrey Thanks to NCSafe program for the firearms locks and safety literature.

Thank you to NCSHP, McDowell Resque Squad, Marion Fire Department, NCDHHS, MHS Theatre Arts, and T&D Wrecker for their participation in Day 2 of the CJ Youth Leadership Program. Students began with Radar/LIDAR training with NCSHP including hands on training with their instruments. The day wrapped up with an amazing traffic accident simulation where students observed first responders work a realistic scene. Afterwards, students completed the accident investigation.

Thanks to McDowell County Sheriff’s Office, Marion Police Department, and Mr. Autrey for a great day of training. Students competed another session of their Stop the Bleed training. K-9 handlers taught students about tracking, narcotics searches, and bite work. The afternoon session was SWAT and rapid deployment training. Our students at MHS are so fortunate to have this opportunity.

Today students completed their training in Stop the Bleed and received their certification. The rest of the day was spent training with Marion Police Department. Students learned about police use of force in a classroom session. We then moved to decision based training on our new simulator. Marion PD let students experience simmunition training with traffic stops and patrol techniques. What a great week!

We love it when former CTE students return and share their knowledge. Thank you, Justin Ramsey, for visiting Inferno Camp today. He works with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation as an arson investigator. He demonstrated the use of drone technology in the fire service.

As always, we are happy to have former students return and help teach the next generation. All four young men completed their Firefighter and EMT-Basic certifications in high school through McDowell County CTE. Each also served in leadership roles as a student officer at McDowell H.S. Emergency Services Academy.

*Dalton Shepard is the Assistant Chief and an EMT-Intermediate at the McDowell County Rescue Squad.

*Austin Robinson is a Captain and EMT-intermediate at the McDowell County Rescue Squad.

*Cody Durkee is a Burke County 911 Telecommunicator, a Firefighter and Chaplain with the Marion Fire Department, and an EMT-intermediate with the McDowell County Rescue Squad.

*Justin Dula completed an internship/pre-apprenticeship with the Asheville Fire Department in high school. Justin is currently a Firefighter/Paramedic on Asheville Ladder 8 and a Firefighter with P.G. Fire & Rescue.

McDowell County CTE and McDowell High FFA were excited to host the Regional Officer Preparation Experience (ROPE) today. State FFA officers trained regional FFA officers from the West and Northwest regions.

Katelyn Finley has spent her summer serving as a 911 Operator, earning Internship Credit. Katelyn qualified for this internship by completing Public Safety 1 & 2 during her freshman year. She has been training to answer calls and how to respond to send assistance based on the type of emergency and needs of the caller.

Brady Tipper is serving as an intern with the McDowell Titan Athletic Booster Club. Brady is working with the Booster Club Board to highlight sponsors on social media, meeting with potential business sponsors, marketing Blue Crew passes and assisting with other adminstrative task. Brady qualified for this internship by completing Sports Marketing 1 & 2.