On Jan. 31, Brainerd High School hosted the first career and technical education open house to share the beautiful new learning spaces made possible by the community support of our 2018 bond referendum. The passing of that referendum gave the district the go-ahead to begin the construction of a new Baxter Elementary School, repurposing all six elementary schools and remodeling the Brainerd High School north and south campuses.
Our original intent with Monday’s open house was to give our business, government and community partners an opportunity to see the innovative classrooms and continue the work connecting technical education students to our local workforce leaders and supporters. Given the strong turnout and response from our guests, we will be hosting future events to support the strong connections between our community partners and students at Brainerd High School.
During student-led tours, guests were able to see their investment first hand and visit career program teaching staff in welding, woods, agriculture (plant and animal science), engineering, robotics, business, video productions, aviation, family and consumer science (culinary arts, interior design, child development) and work experience placements in the community.
Innovative learning spaces and high quality staff are the foundation of successful career pathway programs. However, the community partnerships we have cultivated are critical components to taking a technical education program from good to great! Our community partners speak in classrooms, judge “Shark Tank” competitions for our business entrepreneur classes, host tours of their businesses, provide mentoring to robotics team members and demonstrate culinary skills to aspiring chefs at BHS.
We are grateful for the financial support from our community but also thankful to our business partners who share their expertise, experiences and time with our Warrior students. These experiences provide an invaluable opportunity for students to explore career pathways, and possibly their future vocation.
Strong schools come from strong communities. Brainerd High School shares an attitude of gratitude to many for making this event a reality! First, our gratitude to our event sponsors: Brainerd Lakes Area Economic Development Corp. and Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce. These two organizations are committed advocates to support the healthy and prosperous businesses and organizations in our lakes area. We are also grateful to our education partner, Central Lakes College, for providing post secondary degree programs which align with our courses at BHS. This partnership can accelerate a student’s pathway to a technical career, saving time and money. In addition to our sponsors of this event, we are fortunate to have so many other local organizations who support specific BHS technical education programs.
Thank you, Warrior family!
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