Skills in the Spotlight as MHS Celebrates CTE Month
Career and Technical Education programs at Massapequa High School champion the district’s mission of encouraging students to pursue their passions and achieve success through numerous pathways. February is CTE Month, which raises awareness of programs that prepare students for college and careers.
Massapequa High School’s CTE programs build on the foundation that is developed at Berner Middle School and the Ames Campus, where students begin personalizing their course schedules through increased access to elective courses. CTE includes business, family and consumer sciences and technology.
The College Financial Accounting course allows juniors and seniors to earn six college credits through St. John’s University. Teacher Denise DeLury said the fast-paced program introduces students to financial accounting as they learn bookkeeping, how to read and understand financial statements, and explore accounting careers. They do case studies on business fraud and analyze financial controls that could have prevented it.
College Marketing teacher Adrienne Scamardella said her students do individual and group projects to analyze the marketing strategies of major companies. They learn key concepts and terminology, and participate in the annual Adelphi Apprentice Challenge.
The culinary arts room is used nine periods a day because of the popularity of courses such as Cooking For Today, International Foods and college-level Creative Foods. In the International Foods class, students span the globe to create cultural dishes. With Lunar New Year in February, they are currently in the Asian cuisine unit, cooking items such as butter chicken, fried rice, steamed chicken dumplings and naan. They will later move on to foods from France, Italy and Latin America. Teacher Courtney Puricelli stressed the importance of communication and teamwork to successfully make their dishes.
“I love that we get to make different kinds of food from other cultures,” sophomore Daniella Foley said.
Creative Foods is an advanced baking class. Teacher Christina Sabbiondo said many projects are based on food trends, such as cookie and cupcake competitions. An annual event is the cake-decorating contest, with students confections displayed in the main office so staff can vote on their favorite designs.
Another part of the family and consumer sciences program is Parent and Child Development, and college-level Children and Families. Two days per week, the high school students run a preschool program for local children. The rest of the week is spent studying child development and planning the themed preschool lessons.
“The reason I did this was to get a head start,” said senior Riley Lavin, a student-intern in the college Children and Families course and aspiring elementary school teacher.
In the technology wing, Transportation Systems is a hands-on course that covers aquatic, air and ground vehicles. There is a class car to work on and they also do simple repairs on student or staff cars to learn how to diagnose and fix a problem. In a community known for its waterways, the class is also working on a small boat, with the designs produced by students in the Design and Drawing for Production class.
In Architectural Drawing, a highly-anticipated project is building treehouse models. Students draw floor plans, then create a digital 3D model before building. Teacher Matthew Swanson said students use professional-level software for the planning process.
Residential Structures is an engaging course in which students ultimately build a shed that mimics a house. From the foundation to the walls to the roof, it also includes electrical and plumbing systems so students experience all components of home building.
“I love building things and I don’t get to do anything like this in any of my other classes,” sophomore Kurt Amaya said, adding that he likes seeing a project through from start to finish.
“I might want to do it as a future career,” added Craig Mifsud, who most enjoys the electrical aspect. “It’s a good taste as I explore my options.”
CTE Supervisor Patricia LiVecchi said that the department has recently been working on branding, unveiling a new logo that is on T-shirts and CTE classroom doors. She noted that the program equips students with the knowledge, technical skills, professional competencies and confidence needed for success in a wide range of career fields. Students can explore career options early, gain employable skills before graduating high school and prepare for a smoother transition to college programs.
“CTE is an educational pathway that combines academic instruction with hands-on, career-focused learning to prepare students for college, careers and real-world success,” Ms. LiVecchi said. “It integrates traditional academics with practical, job-specific instruction to create meaningful, applied learning experiences. CTE matters because it helps students to see the relevance of school to future goals.”