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Director's Newsletter
Welcome to the Bismarck Technical Center
The Bismarck Technical Center, a career and technical learning facility, has been part of the Bismarck Public School district for over 25 years. BTC is located on the campus of Bismarck State College, and shares space with BSC in the Technical Center Building. BTC has an enrollment of nearly 500 students from nine (9) public and private high schools yearly. The Center provides students with quality education in career and technical programs including high wage, high demand technical training, academic integration and alignment with post-secondary education.
Instructors at BTC have industry-based experience in the program areas thay teach. Each program has a local industry advisory committee that provides feedback on equipment and curriculum requirements, so students receive real world, "hands-on" learning opportunities.
Bismarck Public Schools is in the process of building a new Career and Technical Center on the BSC campus that is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010.
Be sure to check out the pictures of the new center and learn more about the programs offered at the Tech Center by browsing the website at www.bpstechcenter.org.
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Balanced Scorecard
Career & Tech Center BSC 2009-10 (pdf document)
File Size: 23.64 kb
Career & Technical Education
A Well Rounded Life
The Final Jeopardy Answer:
"I wish I could have taken a class like this when I went to high school."
Make sure it is in the form of a question…Give Up?
What is the most common statement career & technical education teachers hear from parents?
As noted above, parents seem to be the first to realize the benefits of taking one or more of the variety of CTE courses offered through BPS at the middle schools, high schools, and at the Tech Center. With school a distant memory and their middle-age life established, parents see the common sense in taking classes to learn life-long skills. CTE classes help students understand such things as building a shelving unit, landscaping that shady side of the yard, winterizing the snow blower, mending that broken wrought-iron lawn furniture, wiring a music system throughout the house, sewing a grandchild's dress, creating their own business cards and stationery, taking care of that dented car door, etc.
Although CTE classes can benefit everyone, today's employers are crying out for well-trained technicians for their growing companies. Ron Ness, Executive Director of the ND Petroleum Council, told us at a recent Advisory Council meeting that each Monday he receives a list of 50 jobs needed in the Williston oilfield area. These job openings are for service technicians, welders, construction workers, truck drivers, electronic techs and machinists. When Mr. Ness was asked about the salaries for these jobs, he said, "Tell students they are all at least $50,000 per year." This does not include the energy industry, which would have many, if not more, of the same job listings.
Construction of a new Career and Technical Center has been approved by the School Board, and is planned to be open for student use in the fall of 2010. Currently, Bismarck Public Schools leases space at the Technical Center from Bismarck State College, and that lease agreement expires in the year 2009. The new facility would be located across the street from the current Technical Center. The plans are to keep programs such as Auto Tech, Auto Collision, Carpentry and Welding in the current Technical Center. The new 60,000 sq ft. Career and Technical facility would house Aviation, Horticulture/Botany (with a Green House), Engineering/Tech Ed, Medical Related Careers II, Electronics, Graphic Arts and a Resource/tutoring room. A number of industries have expressed an interest in the potential this type of facility has to offer for skilled graduates.
There has been a steady rise in career and technical education programs throughout the United States. Watch for more new developments in this exciting area of education.
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