Cumberland County makes history this year when it opens its first full-time career and technical education high school on College Drive in Millville. The new Cumberland County Technical Education Center, also New Jersey’s newest technical high school, will change the face of education as we have come to know it. Are you ready?
The new school, currently being constructed adjacent to the campus of Cumberland County College, offers us a window of opportunity for drastic change. This magnificent structure in the making, which is highly visible to travelers on Route 55, will provide a vital and necessary link between education and the local economy – a link that promises to build a stronger foundation for economic success and shared prosperity throughout our county. Are you ready for that change?
Students graduating from the new high school will have the knowledge and skills necessary to qualify for and succeed in college credit courses offered to them by several colleges and universities while in high school including Rowan and Rutgers universities. This will include, of course, our own nationally ranked community college. They will have completed a rigorous core curriculum resulting in advanced knowledge and skills. Most importantly, these young county residents will be educated and prepared to enter any postsecondary option, from four-year programs to short-term technical training. Are you ready for these students?
Workforce directed students, will have the benefits of completing programs of study with industry-recognized credentials making them truly prepared for their career of choice. They will do so while participating in general education and academic courses making them not only employable – but well-rounded citizens of Cumberland County. Plus, they will be able to avail themselves of the workforce partners that exist at the school’s central location including the new Cumberland County Workforce and Economic Development Center and Cumberland County College. Together these forces dubbed the Economic Development Triangle will foster skilled, insightful individuals. Are you ready for these job seekers?
Local skill levels drive area job and wage growth and that means improved education not only benefits workers and employers, but all participants of the local economy. Proof of this is the state’s Department of Education support of this $70 million investment also being financed and managed by the Cumberland County Improvement Authority. However, even we who continue to lead and support this key workforce development resource can’t imagine the magnitude of change this predictably eminent school will bring to both current and future residents.
So rather than pose a question, I’ll instead make an important call to action. With much excitement, I say emphatically to “Get Ready” for the new CCTEC. Get Ready for the promise it brings to families and businesses in southern New Jersey. Get Ready for the future!
Get Ready for the New CCTEC
Cumberland County Technical Education Center launched a promotional campaign last year, titled Get Ready as its initial appeal for the high school’s inaugural freshmen class. The multi-media endeavor also helped educate the public about the school and drew awareness to this landmark workforce development resource.
CCTEC’s Get Ready campaign featured a photograph of prospective students on the actual construction site of the new high school to convey the message that this career and technical education facility to open soon – will serve the needs of generations to come. The photo depicted young children of varied ages in workforce attire.
The public information campaign combined several communication platforms to target interested applicants and their families with information regarding the school’s workforce- and college-ready programs as well as its public information sessions. The sessions were held from September to December for area residents to learn more about the student selection criteria and application process.
A varied promotional effort mix consisted of digital and print ads, social media, videos, local entertainment and shopping center advertising, a website landing page and numerous printed materials distributed heavily at CCTEC and area middle school and public events.
As a result of the campaign, nearly 650 area students attended the public information sessions including elementary level students and families eager for the opening of the new facility.
CCTEC administrators, under the auspices of the Cumberland County Board of Vocational Education, will now work with more than 500 eligible eighth-grade applicants to complete the Board’s criteria in selecting the school’s first 225 freshmen students.
For more information about the new Cumberland County Technical Education Center programs and workforce development resource visit www.cctecnj.org or www.CumberlandYES.com/TEC .
View The Chronicle here | View the CCTEC Project Details here
By Dina Rossi Elliott, Ed. D.
Superintendent, Cumberland County Technical Education Center
