Northern Michigan Career Tech Centers Prepare Plans for Returning to Learn

Career Tech schools and centers are preparing for the start of the school year, but learning may look different for students this year.

For career and technical centers across the state, everything depends on what phase of the MI Safe Start Plan their region is in. The Mecosta-Osceola Career Center is currently in phase four, and preparing for a number of different situations.

Mike Miller is the director of career and technical education at the center.

“If we’re in Phase 3 or less obviously we’ll be doing remote learning, which is difficult in any circumstance but especially in tech, and in Phase 4 or higher then our districts locally will likely be in face to face for phase four, those details are still being worked out,” said Miller.

Miller says some programs can adjust fairly easy to remote learning.

“In our culinary arts program, the teacher has been very creative in sending ingredients home, everybody eats, everybody has a kitchen, so having students prepare meals for their families and that’s been really a game changer,” said Miller.

But for others, remote learning is more of a challenge.

“Obviously there are safely concerns, we would never advise a student or assign a student to go home and weld even if they have that equipment just because of the safety concerns,” said Miller.

And that’s where students would see the most change.

“The hope is that they can learn some of the book skills and the knowledge pieces through simulations in some of those online platforms I mentioned. So it’s not lost, they’ve got that framework and when they do come back they can hit the ground running with those hands on skills,” said Miller.