U.S. Department of Education visits Carroll County Career and Technology Center

Dr. Dann-Messier talks with students
while they complete online learning modules
from ToolingU.com.

During a series of visits to schools throughout the country, a team from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) visited the Carroll County Career and Technology Center (CCCTC) in Westminster, Maryland on February 9.

Dr. Brenda Dann-Messier, Assistant Secretary for the OVAE, and her team went to see the Manufacturing & Machine Technology (MMT) program, run by Tim Blizzard (Instructor, CCCTC).

The site visit included a panel discussion with industry leaders and educators, a tour of the machine shop, and a luncheon with a panel of students and parents. The visit’s objective was to determine how the CCCTC program was affecting the area’s industries by providing students who were well prepared for the workforce, and how the program was impacting students. In the last year, the CCCTC program received accreditation from the National Institute for Metalworking Skills (NIMS).

The industry panel and representatives for
local and national departments of education
received a tour of the MMT shop conducted
by several students.

The overall response from the industry panel was that Bill Eckles (Principal, CCCTC), Marjorie Lohnes (Supervisor of Career & Technology Education, CCCTC), and Mr. Blizzard understood the demands of industry in their area and invested a great deal to update the machine shop and ensure the program was attractive to both students and parents.

Toni Neary, Educational Specialist with Tooling U’s Government & Education Group, was invited to attend the meeting and said, "It is always great to get out in the field and meet the students using our program. We heard stories of how Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs and instructors have truly changed the lives of students, building confidence and imparting lifelong skills. To know we are a piece of that puzzle is really powerful."

Mr. Blizzard at CCCTC has been using Tooling U as part of a blended learning delivery for 4 years and has trained more than 60 students in that time.