Dozens of industry leaders from across Lewis County got a chance to see and experience the work being done in the W.F. West High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) wing at a Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event Thursday night.
Usually held in mid-October, the W.F. West CTE Kickoff night is a chance for students, staff and industry partners to meet and make plans for the coming year. By combining this event with the chamber’s Business After Hours event, the hope was to show more industry and community leaders how CTE is part of the district's mission of preparing students for the journey ahead.
The night started with refreshments, including drinks made by Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) students from the Crimson & Gray coffee shop, powered by Lewis County Coffee Company. Students greeted visitors with displays featuring some of the CTE and CTE organizations at W.F. West, including FFA, DECA and SkillsUSA. After an inspirational speech by industry partner Maximilian Macdonald, attendees got the chance to visit several CTE classrooms.
In the W.F. West signmaking classroom, visitors got hands-on experience creating vinyl signs to be used around the high school. In screen printing, students were making tote bags with a special CTE Kickoff Night logo for visitors to take home. In the photography lab, students took portraits for visitors. The metal, auto and wood shops were also busy, with students working on projects throughout the night.
"What an incredible night and start of the year," W.F. West Principal Regina Carr said. "Our CTE teachers and CTE director, Donnie Bunker, work so hard to make sure students have opportunities and are highly prepared. We also deeply appreciate our community and business partnerships. This collective effort makes this work possible. It’s so good for our young people to experience this collaboration and opportunities it provides contributing to their future (success)."
There are more than 30 CTE courses offered at W.F. West in six categories: agriculture, business and marketing, family and consumer science, health sciences, skilled and technical sciences, and STEM.
The programs flourish through the expertise of industry partners, who help guide the curriculum to fit with industry standards. If interested in learning more about W.F. West CTE or offering expertise as an industry partner, call CTE Director Bunker at 360-807-7235.
