Dr. Barbara Jenkins Named Career and Technical Education Superintendent of the Year
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Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barbara Jenkins was named the Career and Technical Education Superintendent of the Year by the Florida Association of Career and Technical Education.
Under Dr. Jenkins' leadership, OCPS has seen phenomenal growth in CTE enrollment and interest among students of all ages and backgrounds.
CTE in middle school:
- Programs went from 37 programs in 2012-13 to more than 80+ programs today
- CTE enrollment growth for those programs has grown from 6,246 students to more than 14,000 students
- New opportunities and fields of study include gaming, simulation and animation programming, digital video, science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), as well as multiple Project-Lead-The-Way program implementations
CTE in high school:
- CTE programs have grown from 150 in 2012-13 to more than 200 today
- CTE enrollment is above 24,000
- Close to 5,000 students are taking advantage of dual enrollment opportunities throughout the five technical college campuses (Orange Technical College is part of Orange County Public Schools)
New initiatives implemented across district high schools include robotic teams, agriscience greenhouses and community gardens, culinary arts and commercial food kitchens, NAF academy expansion, laser photonics and 3D Animation, Modeling and Simulation
"Dr. Jenkins stresses the importance of community and business involvement at all levels in order to provide students real-world learning opportunities as they prepare for college and career," said OCPS Associate Superintendent Mike Armbruster, Career and Technical Education.