How FWPS Students Are Getting Ahead with CTE Courses

Federal Way Public Schools offers a range of Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses to middle and high school students, and they’re taking advantage of these options by gaining relevant skills, college credits, and industry-recognized credentials to be competitive candidates as they enter college and careers.

It’s no secret that entering college and careers following graduation is no easy feat. It’s important that students explore career options in high school to develop a strong career focus and reduce the chances of changing gears once enrolled in a financially binding post-secondary institution. 

FWPS middle and high school scholars in grades 7-12 are getting career-ready now by enrolling in and completing multiple CTE courses before graduation. This tactical learning allows students to narrow their career interests through practical, real-life applications in a classroom setting. Furthermore, many CTE courses offer dual credit and industry-recognized credentials. Students see this as an advantage and a step toward lessening the financial burden of college and other post-secondary programs. 

There are six CTE Programs of Study: 

• Agriculture Education 
• Business and Marketing 
• Family and Consumer Sciences 
• Health Sciences 
• Skilled and Technical Sciences 
• STEM 

Within each Program of Study are career clusters, or career focus areas, for scholars to combine courses towards a career goal. We are also seeing scholars pursue non-traditional careers by gender through the courses within the programs, such as AP Computer Science Principles, Urban Agriculture, Tech Theater, and ProStart Culinary Foods.

During a recent digital citizenship lesson on cybersecurity in the CTE AP Computer Science Principles course at Federal Way High School, 10th grader Samson shared, “We’re learning about scams by reviewing emails and spotting what’s fake or legit. It’s important to learn this so we don’t get scammed out of information or money.” 

Samson, who hopes to run a business or work in tech someday, said, “We’ve learned how to improve our coding and how coding is part of everything, even streaming football or basketball games.”  

Classmate Shinah added, “I took AP Computer Science to see if I’m really good at it and to learn if this is something I can do after high school.” 

These students are gaining powerful skills that prepare them for the digital world ahead!

Currently, 6,035 FWPS students are enrolled in CTE courses. Of those, 3,832 are dual-credit course enrollments in which high school students can earn college credit through an articulation agreement with a local college or an industry-recognized credential in the trades. Federal Way Public Schools continues to expand its CTE course offerings to fulfill the interests of scholars, which has caused a surge in course enrollment. Students enjoy choosing from 86 unique CTE course offerings.

"We aim to offer various career-connected learning opportunities in CTE courses where scholars can learn and explore different careers. To do this, we are constantly assessing our current offerings and seeking scholar input to learn more about what they’re interested in and how we can best support their career goals through our CTE Programs,” shared Dr. Eric Hong, FWPS Executive Director of College and Career Readiness. “The more career exploration opportunities we provide scholars, the more prepared they will be for life after high school.” 

CTE courses have proven to be a gateway to college and career and are an important part of FWPS scholars becoming career-ready. Learn more about CTE opportunities in FWPS at www.fwps.org/CTE.