Cascade High School program prepares student for workforce

LEAVENWORTH – As Career and Technical Education (CTE) Month highlights post-secondary training in schools nationwide, Cascade High School (CHS) is preparing its own students for success as they enter the workforce, pursue technical education, or attend a four-year university.

The high school’s CTE program offers seven career connected learning areas with ten pathways, including early childhood development, computer science, fire science and wildland fire, sports medicine, and more. These courses combine classroom instruction with hands-on projects and learning outside the classroom.

“For a small district like this, we do offer quite a few pathways, opportunities for kids to experience or pursue,” said Cascade High School CTE Director Kirk Sunitsch.

The program is set up to provide students with post-secondary readiness by not only applying lessons to real world experiences, but also offering college credits and certifications to students at no cost. Before they graduate, students can earn their food handlers permit, first aid and CPR certification, red card for wildland firefighting, and more.

CTE has also been able to expand its range in technology courses under the TEALS program with Microsoft. At no cost to the school, Computer Science and Information Technology teacher Tammy Murphy has been able to bring in industry professionals that help teach the content through the lens of real world application.

“I think the tech part has been probably one of the most awe inspiring…When I first started teaching, I taught typing,” said Sunitsch.

TEALS is just one of the many partners the CTE program works with to provide a hands-on experience for the students. Most of these partners are based in the community, and are even walking distance from the high school.

“I think the unique thing too is how connected we are with our community and our community partners…and the willingness for them to do projects with us and participate,” said Sunitsch.

For instance, natural resource students will work on a restoration project with Wenatchee River Institute, art students market and sell their art at Village Art in the Park, and fire students work directly with Chelan County Fire District #3 (CCFD3) for training and experience.

“There's nothing like it, being actually out here and helping people and doing things…You don't get experience like the real world when you're in high school,” said Braeden Parton, a former CTE fire student. “I loved it. It was really good. They treat you like adults here.”

After graduating from CHS in 2023, Parton spent a year as a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. Now, he’s in a two-year residency program at CCFD#3, which will set him up for a career in firefighting.

“I didn't know I wanted to be a firefighter until I came over here in high school and I saw just the family you’re around, and the brotherhood,” said Parton.

As the CTE program grows and changes, it aims to offer coursework for the most in demand occupations in both the county and in the state. Last fall, registered nurses ranked highest in the state and third in Chelan County, according to an Employment Security Department report.

Next year, the program will offer Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training and certification, in partnership with Mountain Meadows Senior Living and Cascade Medical Center. 

“[They] get built in mentors. We're not experts at fire science, we're not experts at the medical [science]...They get more mentorship than we can provide them here…from the community,” said Sunitsch.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media