Plans take shape for new career and technical center in Chesapeake
Plans are coming together for a new career and technical education center in Chesapeake.
On Monday, administrators presented a vision to board members for the tentatively named Career Academies of Chesapeake, to replace the division’s aging Chesapeake Career Center.
Shonda Pittman-Windham, Chesapeake’s director of college and career readiness, said the plan is for the new center to open in five to seven years. It would house six academies: advanced technology, energy and natural resources, health and medical, maritime, public safety, and trade and entrepreneurship.
The plan comes after a facilities study completed last year recommended modernizing or replacing the center. The Chesapeake Career Center opened in 1967 and, according to its website, is the oldest career and technical school in the state.
“We have several programs in portables right now,” Pittman-Windham said in an interview. “And there’s no space for expansion.”
Division leaders must now secure land and funding. They plan to present their vision to the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce and the Superintendent’s Community Engagement Council, as well as at the upcoming Legislative Agenda Meeting in November. Other next steps include developing advisory committees for the future academies.
Pittman-Windham told the board the center already offers a variety of good options for students.
“But we also constantly think about the careers of the future and how we can better prepare our students for those career pathways,” she said. “It is important to us not only to prepare our students for their future careers, but to create workforce pipelines that will directly benefit our community and region. A bigger space with enhanced equipment and programs will allow us to do this at the Career Academies of Chesapeake.”
The Maritime Academy will feature mostly new programming, including a Navy JROTC and courses in precision machining, fisheries and wildlife management, ecology and environmental management, and marine service technology.
“The Academy we are most excited about is the Maritime Academy, in which students will have access to state of the art technology and simulation equipment designed to expose them to the industry and equip them with the knowledge skills and competence needed for this growing industry,” Pittman-Windham said.
Nour Habib, nour.habib@virginiamedia.com
