CTE Center nearing completion, awarded $5,000
Long Beach Breeze
The new Long Beach School District Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center will open this fall, and students in the CTE’s “Whiskers and Waggers Fun Hub-Extended Stay” project will enjoy a $5,000 grant from Sparklight to tackle their initiative to revitalize the City of Long Beach Police Department’s animal shelter. Participating students will gain career and technical training skills related to engineering, construction and welding, as they improve the physical, emotional and social well-being of animals awaiting adoption. Participating Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) students will also earn volunteer hours.
“We are grateful to Sparklight for the $5,000 donation for our Whiskers and Waggers project,” said Long Beach High School Work-Based Learning Coordinator Demetria Brown. “It will truly have an impact across our entire community. Thank you, Sparklight, for putting the ‘spark’ into our important project.”
The school’s program was one of only twenty-six grant recipients across the company’s twenty-four-state footprint during the company’s most recent award period.
The CTE, for which funding was secured during the 2021-22 school year, will offer classes in automotive, business marketing and finance, construction, digital media, educator preparation, engineering, health sciences, law and public safety and welding, in addition to the nursing, engineering, computer science, business and teacher academy classes that were already being offered by the district. It will also give students the opportunity to participate in work-based learning.
CTE classes emphasize real-world skills and practical knowledge within a selected career focus. Learners in CTE programs take specialized courses, in addition to required courses, and often have the opportunity to participate in internships, engage with mentors and practice what they are learning through hands-on projects.
Patrick Bennett serves as the director of the LBSD CTE.
“We understand that not every student is destined to attend of complete a four-year university,” said Bennett, at the center’s groundbreaking last year. “This is an investment to those students.”
“A lot of the in-demand jobs [in the workforce right now] require high-level technical training,” said Bennett. “This [CTE] is an investment in not only our kids, but also our city and local economy. We’re going to create a pipeline of skilled workers that will meet the high demands and the needs for jobs all over the coastal economy.”
Equipment installation is nearing completion, and the facility, which is located at 200 Bearcat Boulevard, near Harper McCaughan Elementary School, is expected to be ready for the Bearcats’ first day of school, which is Monday, July 29. 
