The district has been a part of the Excel TECC Consortium and will now transition away from that program to house all programs in the district.
Over the last 18 months, one of the single highest frequency pieces of feedback the district has been getting is on the urgency of workforce development and of getting students exposed to careers sooner, as well as getting them connected to that pipeline earlier than 11th grade, said Superintendent Patrick Ward.
“Career Tech, as it’s configured now, is an 11th- and 12th-grade experience,” he said. “For many of our kids, that’s too late. This community has said over and over again that workforce development is something that is a priority for us. Our families in Willoughby-Eastlake also reiterated to us that the earlier we expose kids to careers, no matter whether they’re going to college or right into some sort of technical field, the better for our students.”
The challenge as of now is the district’s demand is high, Ward said.
“Willoughby-Eastlake, just from a size standpoint in Lake County, is one of the largest districts,” he said. “If you take Cuyahoga County and Lake County, we’re the second largest, so we got a lot of stakeholders and students, and a lot of interest in workforce development. Yet, right now, 50 percent of kids applying to programs aren’t getting in because there’s not enough seats.”
The district has had conversations with people who do technical education and workforce development at the state level.
“They said, ‘Why not do it yourself?’” Ward said. “The decision was made after a year-and-a-half-long conversation to move to become our own career comprehensive. We have eight programs right now in the district that are programs that offer career pathways when kids graduate. We have to explore in-demand fields and add programs that meet the needs of our families. We’re in control of that conversation now.”
In addition, the district is adding middle school career interest programming and high school capstone courses that will allow students to explore career interests in four different categories.
“Next year, at the middle level, we’re adding seventh- and eighth-grade career connection programming,” Ward said. “That is going to explore the pathways Ohio sets out for career technical education and workforce development.”
As part of the Capstone Courses pilot, the following will be focus areas offered to students in the ninth and 10th grades:
- Skilled Trades Capstone: transportation systems, construction technologies, manufacturing and law and public safety.
- Business and Finance Capstone: business administration, finance, marketing and hospitality and tourism.
- STEM and Technical Careers Capstone: agricultural and environment systems, engineering and science technology and IT.
- Art, Health and Human Services Capstone: arts and communication, education, human services and health science.
“Students will engage in self-directed projects culminating in a capstone showcase where they present their work to peers, families and community members,” Ward said. “We’re using AI to do it. One of the things that saves cost for districts today is leveraging artificial intelligence.”
By using AI, the district is able to leverage technology, get ninth- and 10th-graders into these courses that will allow them to explore and connect with businesses, and people in these fields so that by the time they’re in 11th and 12th grade, they’ll be more prepared to select a more intensive career technical education program, Ward said.
“If they’re going to choose a STEM field or college path, we can offer rigorous academic courses tailored to them,” he said.
Next year, the district will offer cybersecurity for 10th-grade students.
“We believe this is an in demand area right now,” Ward said. “Kids are signing up for courses now.”
The most significant is construction trades as the field is exploding, Ward said.
“We partner with the Home Builders Association to build a pilot program for juniors and seniors,” he said. “We’re doing this without any additional cost. We’re just repurposing existing dollars.”
The programming compliments the district’s bigger conversation that’s been being had since Ward started, which focuses on future readiness.
“If we’re going to be serious about creating students who are future ready, we’ve got to get serious about the opportunities they have,” he said. “Every kid should have core instruction that’s rigorous, but we can support that with career exploration that make school more meaningful and relevant for our kids — make them want to come to school and feel like the time they’re spending here is going to pay off.”
©2025 The News-Herald (Willoughby, Ohio). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
