Pettus: Kudos to AJUSD for inaugural CTE program at Apache Junction HS

This note is to extend kudos to Apache Junction Unified School District in general and Director of CTE Jeffery Cox specifically. As a now retired 35-year professional educator who served as both a high school principal and district superintendent, I understand the positive value of the classes offered high school students in career and technical education. It is wonderful to read about the number of students pursuing the variety of programs offered and I suspect when Mr. Cox is able to add more programs those numbers will increase significantly.

In the districts I was employed we offered many programs similar to those mentioned in the article (“153 students in inaugural CTE programs at Apache Junction High School” on the cover of the December 2024 issue of the Apache Junction/God Canyon Independent). Others we offered were police and fire science, automotive repair, graphic arts and printing, house construction and computer assisted design. All the classes were popular as students were able to choose an elective course more meaningful to them. Upon completion we found that senior participants almost always had some form of employment awaiting them upon graduation. Those that enrolled in fire and police science had a very high rate of success gaining acceptance into the training academies required for those professional careers.

Please don’t misunderstand me — we made no effort to dissuade those students who planned to go to college; quite the opposite. However, I believe too much focus on “college-prep” over the years led to the disappearance of many of the old manual arts high schools of days gone by where students actually learned a functional trade. Perhaps as we watch the success of the CTE programs here locally, more support will be forthcoming. And, as a side note, many CTE graduates will also opt for a college path and have meaningful employment while attending.

Again, kudos and thanks for focusing on a significant aspect of making students career ready. It is wonderful to learn that Superintendent Robert Pappalardo, Board Members Gail Ross and Bobby Bauders and Director Cox are supporting such important curricula offerings.

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