Career and Technical Education Month is February, and Feb. 7-11 is SkillsUSA Week. Career and Technical Education Month promotes public awareness of the concept that our education directly prepares students for high-wage, high-demand careers. Career and technical education covers many different fields, including health care, information technology, advanced manufacturing, hospitality and management and many more areas.

To highlight these two significant events, the five local career and technical schools, which participate in the SkillsUSA Council, under the direction of Andy Hammer and Amy Silvoy, participated in the ProStart Competition. On Feb. 2, 89 students from local career and technical schools competed at the Sure Stay Plus Hotel Best Western Lehigh Valley and Agricultural Hall in Allentown. The leadership competitions at Best Western were not open to the public. However, guests were invited to the Agri-Plex to see students compete for the gold. First-place students will continue on to Hershey Lodge for the state conference April 6.

St. Luke’s University Health Network recently partnered with Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School. Students in the health careers programs at BAVTS have been hired as PCAs to help with staffing. As part of the students’ training, they have worked on the various floors: emergency department, cardiac inpatient, medical/surgical inpatient, acute rehab center and oncology inpatient.

Students have been involved in moving patients with limited mobility, vital signs, ambulations, answering call bells and have been engaged in using EPIC for electronic medical records.

The following seniors are participating in the program: Abigail Schreck, Northampton Area High School; Kelsey Ressler, Freedom High School; Jazmine Rodriguez, FHS; Chase Hendrickson, FHS; Madison Phillips, FHS; Allya Walters, Liberty High School; Rebecca Taney, FHS; and Keyma Poole, FHS.

“We love having students on P9 oncology. Our team loves engaging with students and helping them grow in the medical field. Students always come in with positive attitudes, and the patients see that and appreciate it. Every day, staff completes many tasks, but having students reminds us that those tasks are complex and interesting. It truly is fulfilling when you get to teach students,” said Paul Muth, BSN, RN, patient care manager, PPHP 9, of St. Luke’s Hospital, Fountain Hill.

Seniors Brandon Koch, NAHS, and Ethan Woods, FHS, were both brought on by the hospital as facilities engineering interns. So far, both groups of students have expressed positive feedback on the experience.

In preparation for the Pennsylvania ProStart Invitational being held Feb. 23 at the Penn State Conference Center in State College, students from BAVTS recently participated in the Pennsylvania ProStart Culinary Arts Boot Camp, hosted by Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s culinary arts center, located in Punxsutawney. There will be 13 teams participating in the Feb. 23 competition.

Students who attended the boot camp are seniors Treyvon Fitzpatrick, LHS; Josiah Correa, LHS; Joslyn Buss, LHS; Joseph DeDona, FHS; and Greg Joseph, LHS.

Students participated in a welcome session, food production, knife cuts, recipe costing, teamwork-professionals and then a final wrap-up. Seven schools participated in the boot camp.

Mr. Fortunato secured a Pennsylvania ProStart grant with the assistance of Hope Sterner, director of education with Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. The grant assisted with paying for the competition, covered some expenses for the boot camp and the textbooks and curriculum materials.