Isle of Wight County Schools’ new career and technical education (CTE) program is designed to equip County students with skills to prepare them for “college, career, and life.”  The new program offers courses including: engineering, manufacturing, robotics, culinary arts, and coding, to name a few, that offer the training which modern employers, including many local businesses, say they need in their workforce. These courses are designed not only to teach specific technical skills, but also the more elusive, much sought after “soft” skills, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and teamwork.

Michael Lombardo, Executive Director of Innovative Learning for Isle of Wight County Schools, gave a presentation to members of the Isle of Wight County Workforce Working Group on the new CTE and STEM courses offered to students this fall.  He also discussed the school system’s future plans to renovate the vocational building at Smithfield High School to add new facilities, such as a commercial kitchen for the culinary arts program, and the development of a working farm at Windsor High School for use by the veterinary science program.

Isle of Wight County Schools is interested in partnering with local and regional businesses to help implement its new programs.  Any business interested in participating should contact Mike Lombardo at 757-357-4514.

Career & Technical Education and STEM – Isle of Wight County Schools