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Center for Applied Technology & Career ExplorationRocky Mount, VA
Replication Details
The basic concepts of CATCE are fully replicable. Teachers are fluent in a variety of teaching methods that emphasize hands-on discovery learning, collaborative learning, and real-world problem solving. Teachers also received training in effective integration of technology and the selection of experienced master teachers helped provide an increased return on the training investment. In addition to master teachers, each module also consists of an expert from industry for that specific field. For example, in the legal module one teacher is a former attorney. Additionally, in the media module there is a former anchor of the local news. Unique to the situation is the pairing of professionals--engineers, news anchors, artists--with the master teachers. This pairing takes a commitment from school leaders to investigate this nontraditional approach to instruction as well as financial support, since student to teacher ratio is often as low as 15:1. The elaborate facility and intense immersion of technology also requires substantial funding. While CATCE found support both locally and through major federal grants, it is important to remember that the emphasis of the program is on student learning and that the technology is a tool that has been appropriated for this purpose.
The scope of this project required a major financial investment. However, taxpayers in Franklin County either understood this need or benefited from a well-communicated vision from school leaders, for they approved a $14.6 million bond issue by a 20 percent margin. School leaders also won additional external support exceeding $1.6 million in the forms of grants, detailed below.
Other resources:
Itemized costs:
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