The WRHS CTE center officially opened on October 21, 2024, after several years of planning and 8 months of design. They had the ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.
The reason the district built the CTE center was to fulfill the Board of Education’s desire to provide a course of study for students who were not planning to pursue education at a college level. Those students had a desire to enter the workforce straight out of high school, as opposed to advancing into college. Rich Jones, Executive Director of Operations for the district said, “The district’s desire is to provide every student with the best education possible in order for them to make the best choices in their next step after high school. No matter what it might be.”
In addition to being a great place for workforce education, the new technology in the CTE center is highly advanced. The building has various professional facilities. Mr. Harvey, the WRHS industrial technology teacher said, “The welding shop has a CNC plasma cutter and welding booths that rival many colleges. The center provides opportunities for students to gain experience with current industry-standard equipment and practices.”
With all the huge facilities and equipment, some of the staff ran into issues, one of which was transitioning into the new CTE center. According to Harvey, the enormity of the shops has made it a complicated move. “There are a lot of little details that require attention, especially keeping track and organizing tools and learning the intricacies of the new machines.”
Even with the difficulties of transitioning into such a large facility many good things came from the 50,000-square-foot addition. Harvey said, “The fact that we have a space to build a house inside is amazing. The greenhouse is substantially larger than our old one and will implement hydroponics to grow herbs for culinary classes.”
For more information about the WRHS CTE program click HERE to visit the website. You can also find more information about the CTE center and other district bond projects by clicking HERE.
