High schools throughout the state offer numerous opportunities for their students to prepare for the next step, whether it's college or a career that includes AP credits, work study options, or career and technical education programs.

Also known for short as CTE, the Jessamine College and Technology Center has 12 CTE program areas.

KMG recently visited JCPs for our upcoming Education Matters program.

Paths for success.

High school students don't know what they don't know.

They know what their parents do for a living.

They probably know what some aunts and uncles and grandparents do for a living.

But the world is much larger than that.

More than likely.

So by offering these opportunities, students can both early in their high school career get some exploration and determine what they think they might want to do.

Then, as they move through high school, they can specialize in that, potentially get some dual credit in that area.

They can earn some industry certifications in that area.

We offer articulated credit if they pass an end of pathway assessment.

Work based learning is also a key component of what we do.

So they can actually go get some job experience in that area that they might be interested in all before they're paying college tuition for it.

We want them to be prepared for whatever is next.

Sometimes, though, the best thing that we can do for a student is help them figure out what they don't want to do, because what we don't want is students to head on to that post-secondary level with a plan in mind, but no experience in that area, only to realize they've paid a lot of tuition for something that isn't actually their passion.

When I went through high school, we did not have these types of programs.

So I think for me, teaching these students that career in tech is important because it gives them the opportunity to explore different career paths before they have to really settle in on something.

It's also a safe environment for them to learn more about the career, to grow in their career, and to really see themselves after high school, being able to enter the workforce or to go post-secondary.

Get further education in college.

It's a lot of money to go through and do all of your different pathways.

It's a lot of money if you want to switch it.

It's going to be a lot.

So being able to have like a choice in like what we want to do in high school and it's free.

Like you get to dabble in everything.

Like I also took small animal tech.

I've also taken wildlife.

I'm taking equine science.

Next semester, I get to dabble in all of the other different things that would, in college cost money for me to take.

So super cool.

Like getting to like, make sure that I know what I want to do here in high school.

Oh, I know, I know, it's.

Okay in the vet assisting program, it really we try to stair step into what they would be learning next.

So to assist in the surgery they don't need to know every vein or vessel that is in an animal's body.

But they do need to know some basic anatomy and physiology.

And so I think that preparing them and giving them a good foundation for those higher level skills that they would receive if they're going into a traditional four year program or they're going to go to graduate school to get their DVM.

I think that that's essential.

Building that self-confidence early and giving those fundamental skills to them so that they're confident enough to take on the more difficult tasks.

In the classroom, were required to complete so many hours of lab or practice time, and then they go through competency on 25 skills.

So before we ever go to clinical, they learn 25 skills, and they get checked off in the classroom to make sure they're competent to perform those.

And then when we go to clinical, you have the added component of you actually have patient interaction.

So here in the lab, while we do practice with each other, the mannequins, it's just a one way they're doing the skill.

We can simulate what would happen if this occurred.

But in the real world, you're getting that real time feedback.

So the students get a lot of actual real time interaction.

How do you respond to people?

How are you kind to people?

How do you deal with things that aren't going the way the book says, but keep your composure?

You know, keep your professionalism that you've learned here in the classroom.

I really like, like, the more that it's hands on, but also all the, like, opportunities we get.

So like these, like, what's I'm going to be able to have my senior license and then the classes that we're about to add are going to be really beneficial for college because they're going to count as college classes.

So that means my college won't have to take so long.

With the scenes from outside while.

Studying the competition.

Yeah, just like we do with our labs.

For people who really want to go into healthcare, this is a perfect stepping stone for them.

And they were able to get their knowledge further because some some people don't have that.

And like they go to college and they kind of have to learn all there.

But we already have some knowledge that has set up for us and hand it to us, so it's just easier.

I've had students be a part of murder cases.

I've had students be a part of, high value civil cases in excess of 100,000 towards $1 million.

And they're handling the real paperwork for it.

I know that students coming out of this pathway are more prepared than any college graduate for law school, because they don't offer something like this in college.

They're going to have already explored, as a high school student, what's, you know, 20 year olds are just starting to explore in law school.

I definitely feel like I could walk into, any, like, starting position as a veterinary assistant in any of the clinics and just with a little bit of help understand everything that needs to be done.

Because the basic information that I learned.

Here, it seems like every year we have a group of students that will come in once the first semester of college is over, they'll come back to visit and talk about how, you know, maybe they were the only person in their class that knew what some of the terminology meant, because the things they had done here, or they were the only student in their class that had the specific skill set that they learned with us, and they were that they were prepared because they had been a part of our pathway.

Our kids are going to be the ones that are hired.

Our kids are going to be the ones with the higher success rates in school, because we're preparing them for that.