Enter a high school classroom today, and it may look a little different from what you would expect.

Sure, there’s math and English, but just down the hall there’s also a nursing class where students are learning to read vital signs, a kitchen where students are honing their culinary and hospitality management skills and a computer lab where students are working on certifications in a variety of software programs vital for success in today’s business world.

February is Career and Technical Education Month. CTE is education that directly prepares students for high-wage, high-demand careers.

It can cover many fields, including health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing, hospitality and management and many others.

In St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools, we offer more than a dozen career pathways, including carpenter, certified nursing assistant, emergency medical technician, welder, digital media and entertainment technology, health sciences, information technology, manufacturing construction crafts and logistics, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), business management, workplace safety and hospitality, tourism, culinary and retail.

For those students planning to go on to college, these pathways give them a head start on their college educations, as well as a way to earn money to pay for college.

For those students who plan to enter the workforce after high school, these pathways allow them to earn certifications and licenses that immediately qualify them for jobs that could turn into careers.

Last school year, in the area of health care alone, 36 St. John the Baptist Parish Public School students became certified nursing aides and could immediately qualify for a job in a nursing home or hospital.

Another 51 credentials were earned as emergency medical responders, and 12 students became certified pharmacy technicians.

Numerous other certifications were earned in computer programs such as Photoshop and PowerPoint, in construction safety, ProStart and ServSafe (culinary) and others.

In fact, more than 800 credentials – certifications, diplomas or licenses – in CTE were earned by our students during the 2015-16 school year.

A special thank you goes out this month to our career and technical educators.

Guiding our business students are Billie Duncan, Clara Breaux, Jennifer Chauvin, Quantrell Toval, Derron Cook, Ryan Perrilloux, Paula Johnson, Stash James, Trenice Cooper, Deanna Larmeu and Shane Brooks.

Ashanti Johnson, Chanel Zeno, Victoria Millet, Jennifer Brady and Corday Barnes teach our nursing students. Beverly Reed-Turley, Jonathan Noel, Nathaniel Sowell and Kenneth Stevens teach our vocational students, and Lydia White and Lorenzo Edwards teach our culinary students.

Thank you for your commitment to getting students ready for their futures!

Jennifer Boquet is the communications specialist for St. John the Baptist Parish Public Schools. Email her at jboquet@stjohn.k12.la.us.