Hawley, PA – Yesterday, Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin and Deputy Secretary of Education Dr. Carrie Rowe from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) traveled to Wallenpaupack Area School District to highlight how the district is preparing students for good-paying, high-demand careers through its career and technical education programs. The Shapiro Administration has increased funding for career and technical education across Pennsylvania by $61 million since taking office – a more than 50% increase. During the visit, PDE officials also visited the proposed site of a future regional career and technology center (CTC).
"Career and technical education is essential for providing students with the skills and opportunities to succeed in today’s dynamic economy. As Pennsylvania continues to grow, it’s vital that every student, regardless of where they live, has access to high-quality career training that leads to good-paying, in-demand jobs,” said Deputy Secretary Rowe. “The creation of the Wayne/Pike Career and Technical Center is an exciting step toward closing the gap in educational access and ensuring that all students in these counties can explore, develop, and excel in careers that will drive their futures forward."
In addition to a $61 million boost to put more career and technical education in our classrooms, the Shapiro Administration has increased funding for K-12 public education by more than $1.5 billion – driving resources to the public schools that need them most.
While the Wallenpaupack Area School District offers its own career and technical education classes to students, Wayne and Pike counties are the only two Pennsylvania counties that are not served by a regional CTC. Identifying a community-wide need to provide those services, Wallenpaupack Area School District is partnering with Wayne Highlands, Western Wayne, and Delaware Valley school districts to create the first-ever Wayne/Pike Career and Technical Center to fill a regional gap in access to career and technical education.
“Our mantra has been ‘Finish the job, unlock the future.’ In collaboration with our federal, state, and local partners, we are working to provide students and residents of the last two counties in PA without a CTC with the same choices and opportunities for career exploration and career development as the other 65 counties in the state,” said Keith Gunuskey, superintendent of the Wallenpaupack Area School District. “The time has come for this dream to become a reality.”
A feasibility study is underway to determine the size and scope of the new CTC, which will be located on the Wallenpaupack Area School District’s campus behind the North Primary School.
Students in each of the four school districts unserved by a regional CTC can choose to attend CTE courses offered by their neighboring schools – such as nine career and technical education programs offered by the Wallenpaupack Area School District. However, without a regional CTC, students from each of the four school districts must sometimes travel outside their home district for whole days to attend CTE courses. The new CTC would remove this scheduling predicament for students as the programs would be run in the morning and afternoon, allowing students to return to their home school district for the other half of the day.
The Wallenpaupack Area School District is located in the Pocono Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The school district is located in a predominately rural setting, drawing its student from a 325 square mile area of Pike and Wayne counties. Formerly a region of small manufacturing, canal transport, lumbering, and farming, the region’s main economic driver is the hospitality industry, due to the proximity of Lake Wallenpaupack and its resort and hospitality businesses.