Career opportunities: CACTC invites prospective students to attend Jan. 25 open house

Jen Cowart
Posted 1/15/15

With the new year comes the opportunity for students from Cranston’s high schools and those in nearby communities to apply for acceptance into one of the Cranston Area Career and Technical …

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Career opportunities: CACTC invites prospective students to attend Jan. 25 open house

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With the new year comes the opportunity for students from Cranston’s high schools and those in nearby communities to apply for acceptance into one of the Cranston Area Career and Technical Center’s (CACTC) many college and career exploration programs.

The school will be hosting its annual open house alongside the Cranston High School West Future Falcon Open House on Sunday, Jan. 25 from noon to 2 p.m. The snow date will be Jan. 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

CACTC, formerly known as strictly a “vo-tech” option for students not attending college after high school, has come a long way in shedding that reputation and becoming known statewide for its stellar post-secondary opportunities, including both two- and four-year colleges, Ivy League universities, military careers and technical career choices.

The school boasts comprehensive three-year programs in the following college and career pathways: Aquaculture, CAD/Drafting Technology, Child Development, CISCO Networking, Cyber Security and Forensics, Culinary Arts, Entrepreneurship, Graphic Communication, Interactive Digital Media, Medical Pathways, Residential Construction, Repair and Remodeling, and Pre-Engineering/Robotics.

Those who wish to apply for a spot in any one of the programs must turn in their application no later than March 1 in order to be considered for the competitive first round of acceptances.

Students who are accepted into any of the CACTC programs have the unique opportunity to take their core subject classes at Cranston West while taking their career pathways classes at CACTC as their electives, a process known as dual enrollment. The CACTC classes can also be taken at the honors level during the final two years of any of the three-year programs.

Upon graduation, students taking advantage of the dual enrollment opportunity receive a high school diploma from Cranston West, a CACTC certificate of completion and any other specific, industry-related certifications earned in their program of choice.

Additionally, thanks to federal funding, many of the programs at CACTC now boast Early Enrollment Programs (EEP), which allow students to take classes at CACTC during their high school years that will earn them college credits at the conclusion of the class. The credits are guaranteed and are not based on the passing of a standardized test – as would be the case in an Advanced Placement course – with each course having gone through a rigorous approval process prior to being accepted as college level.

The three newest CACTC programs currently offering college level courses are Drafting, which offers a three-credit course approved by Rhode Island College; Medical Pathways, which offers a three-credit course approved by Rhode Island College; and CISCO Networking, which offers a four-credit course approved by the University of Rhode Island. According to CACTC Director Gerry Auth, there is the potential for more EEP courses to be approved in the future.

Although the credits being earned in the EEP courses have been approved by URI and RIC, the students need not attend only those specific universities or colleges in order to use the credits. They are transferable to any university or college accepting transfer credits.

Articulation agreements also exist between many of the programs and other nearby colleges and universities in addition to URI and RIC, including Roger Williams University, New England Institute of Technology, Community College of Rhode Island, Johnson and Wales University, Bristol Community College, Lincoln Culinary Institute, Culinary Institute of America and Connecticut Culinary Institute.

Students enrolled at CACTC have many opportunities throughout their three years there to take advantage of hands-on learning opportunities, including site visits, internships and community service programs. Upon graduation, they often find themselves ahead of their peers both in experience and in college credits, due to the fact that they’ve spent the past three years using equipment and gaining industry-level knowledge in the classrooms.

“The federal funding we receive allows us to stay on top of industry standards, and to keep up with the current equipment being used,” Auth said. “We’re constantly updating the equipment used in all of our programs.”

As an example, Auth explained that equipment updates will be taking place in several of the programs, including Medical Pathways and Graphic Communications.

Senior Aly Ruggieri is currently finishing up the CAD/Drafting program at CACTC and is enrolled in an EEP course, which will be transferable to the college or university of her choice. Although Ruggieri has applied and been accepted to Wentworth Institute of Technology and the University of Hartford for architectural drafting, she’s awaiting word from Roger Williams University, which is her school of choice. Ruggeiri has already seen the difference that a CACTC education can make.

“Being able to use the programs currently being used in the real world helps a lot. In the Drafting program we work on real life projects,” she said. “My grandma is putting a new garage on, and I got to design her garage. The software program that we use in our Drafting program now is the same software program that Roger Williams University uses in their Drafting program. Working with actual, real-life projects gives me a feel for what I want to do later on, and if I will like it or not.”

As part of the Drafting pathways program, Ruggieri was able to take advantage of an after school learning opportunity, the Architecture, Construction, Engineering (ACE) program at the New England Institute of Technology, and had the opportunity to apply much of what she had learned in her program at CACTC to the ACE program. She even found herself helping many of the students she met at the program from other schools who had not been exposed to the industry standard programs and equipment she had been using all along at CACTC.

“Many of the other kids hadn’t even heard of CAD, but that’s what we use here in our program,” she said.

Internship opportunities are another reason why many students choose to apply to CACTC during their freshman year of high school, looking ahead to their future careers and the impact that a hands-on internship might have on them.

Senior Raymond Maslen-Lallier credits the knowledge he’s gained in the CACTC Residential Construction, Repair and Remodeling program with preparing him for his future career as a welder.

“Coming to Cranston High School West has given me more knowledge and more opportunities than I could have ever asked for. I have learned so much from the construction teachers, Mr. Carcieri and Mr. Ingerouski,” Maslen-Lallier said.

Having had a full-time, paid summer internship with Electric Boat this past summer, Maslen-Lallier is now planning for a career opportunity there as a welder. He also had the opportunity to receive hands-on welding training at Thielsh Welding School through a community partnership the school has with CACTC.

“I am participating in a 20-hour program there over the next month, and I’m planning on taking a course there after I turn 18,” Maslen-Lallier said.

According to Auth, welding is being further incorporated into the Construction Pathways program at CACTC in the near future, with four welding booths being added to the equipment on the campus and the welding topic being added into the construction curriculum.

Those students and their families in grades seven through nine interested in learning more about the benefits of the CACTC/CHSW Dual Enrollment opportunities are encouraged to attend the open house on Jan. 25. Faculty, staff and students will be on hand at both schools for tours and information about coursework, electives, pathway programs and extracurricular activities.

Interested parties can also visit the school websites for a virtual tour at cpsed.net/cactc and cpsed.net/chsw.

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