The Career & Technical Education program for the School District of Lee County continues to expand and reach students in elementary school.

Adult & Career Education Director Rita Davis said in a presentation to the Lee County School Board their main focus is to begin at the elementary level to get students excited about careers, which is done through their Excellent Career Exploration Lab, or EXCEL, bus.

“It contains hands-on learning career kiosks and virtual reality,” she said.

During the 2022-2023 school year, 1,236 fifth grade students at 10 schools were exposed to the EXCEL bus. There are nine more schools scheduled to attend.

The students are divided with half taking a basic career aptitude survey to see what their interests are, while the others go onto the bus and immerse themselves in various careers, such as a nurse in an emergency room.

“Our dentist station is sponsored by Portofino Dental. Our healthcare station is Lee Health, law enforcement by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, construction by Lee BIA and My Shower Doors has manufacturing kiosks,” Davis said.

The Career & Technical Education enrollment for sixth through 12th grade for the 2021-2022 school year was 37,399, which was not as high as 2019-2020 school year of 37,656 students, but higher than 2020-2021 of 33,122 students.

“It is very important to make sure programs are having impacts with our students. We have been expanding enrollment in sixth through 12th in Career & Technical Education,” Davis said.

The digital tool certificates earned for sixth through eighth grade was 1,169 for 2021-2022, compared to 1,510 for 2019-2020. As of Jan. 31, the digital tool certificates earned this year were 592 in such areas as word processing, introduction to gaming and good cyber citizens.

The digital tool certificates are intended to get middle school students excited about what could be available to them in high school. It takes them from their fifth grade initial exploration to taking courses and earning the digital tool certificates.

The ninth through 12th grade industry certifications earned was 2,099 for 2021-2022 compared to 3,052 for the 2019-2020 school year.

There are more than 50 CTE programs for high school.

“Seven years ago we strategically partnered with Career Source of Southwest Florida for guiding and implementing new programs,” Davis said. “We want a skilled teacher in the classroom, a school that is going to support it and a workforce that needs students trained in that specific area. CTE is no longer an elective. We are actually more required in a wonderful way to have students complete two, three, four courses to get most in-depth knowledge.”

There is a new course offering, marketing essentials, which has 4,006 students enrolled. There is an online course requirement, which may lead to a certification for entrepreneurship and business.

“The skills associated with that certification are transferable to many industries,” Davis said.

The high demand programs include veterinary assisting, pharmacy tech and carpentry. The district also had its first masonry I National Center for Construction Education & Research certified high school student.

Davis said industry certifications can enhance a student’s life.

Based on 2020 numbers, the student earned $27.30 an hour for base employment with certification, compared to $14.26 for entry level for the same job.

“There is a difference in earning power with certifications,” Davis said.

Adult education was also highlighted, as the district offers GED, English for Speakers of Other Languages, Lifelong Learning and UpSkill Village courses for adults.

There are eight in-person sites and one online option for GEDs that provide both morning and evening classes. In 2021-2022 there were 193 graduates. For spring 2023 there are 313 students enrolled.

There are 1,464 students enrolled in the spring 2023 ESOL class. Lifelong Learners offers 17 classes for 250 students. The UpSkill Village was made possible through a $750,000 Lee County Economic Development Office grant and offers eight micro-credentials in essential skills.

Davis said digital badges are given, which enhances resumes.

There is also Individualized Education & Training, which is concurrent learning for GED and ESOL students, as well as Family Literacy at Tice Elementary to help parents of pre-K students become proficient in English. Davis said they also have business sponsored ESOL classes through a Goodwill Industries partnership to help employees become proficient in English.

Technical Colleges

In addition to providing young students with career options, the School District of Lee County provides programs at technical colleges.

Cape Coral Technical College offers 16 programs in nursing/healthcare, technology, culinary arts and hospitality, barbering and cosmetology, business and veterinary assisting.

“Students leave with no debt. We do not give loans,” Cape Coral Technical College Director Charlie Pease said. “Programs range from $3,000 to $7,000. We help them make sure they cover their program with zero debt.”

Fort Myers Technical College has 24 programs in healthcare, construction, transportation, manufacturing, hospitality and human services.

The technical colleges have to keep data for completion, placement and licensures. During the 2021-2022 year, 91 were placed in their field upon completing their program at Cape Coral Technical College, while 87 percent were placed in their field at Fort Myers Technical College.

Fort Myers Technical College Director John Roszell said they hold career fairs at the college inviting a particular industry for the students.

“Healthcare students only talk to healthcare employees. The same thing for construction. It really worked out well. It’s a better opportunity to get out there,” he said.

The board was also given an update about the Public Service Academy by Senior Director Todd Everly. The academy is the only FDLE certified basic recruit law enforcement academy in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades Counties and the only full-time basic recruit fire service and EMT academy in Southwest Florida.

The Criminal Justice Academy is the fifth largest out of 42 academies in Florida. It also serves 24 local law enforcement agencies in Southwest Florida. The fire and EMT academy services 28 fire departments in Southwest Florida.

The programs offered include law enforcement (LEO), correctional officer (CO), crossover, CO to LEO, firefighter, emergency medical technician and equivalency of training (EOT).

Everly said EOTs are officers coming from somewhere else in the United States.

“There was a huge draw from officers leaving the big east of governments, maybe not supporting law enforcement, and coming to Florida. We got into the business because demand was so high here,” he said.

Everly said they have 280 law enforcement officers, 240 correctional officers, 48 firefighters and 90 EMTs a year.

The academy has a 98 percent placement rate.

“If we lose people in the beginning they were not ready, or have a full understanding of what that commitment is,” Everly said.